First Page

Blue = Definition
Orange = Person
Purple = Study

First Page 1

1 Memory 2

2 Learning 11

3 Research Methods in Behavioural Science 20

1.2 How Psychology Became A Science 27

2.1 Principles Of Scientific Research 36

2.3 Ethics In Psychological Research 39

8.1 Organization Of Knowledge 40

8.2 Problem Solving, Judgement, And Decision Making 45

8.3 Language And Communication 47

9.1 Measuring Intelligence 50

9.2 Understanding Intelligence 52

9.3 Biological, Environmental, And Behavioural Influences On Intelligence 55

1 Memory
1.1 Selective Attention
Focusing awareness on a narrow range of stimuli.
- Filters out irrelevant stimuli (e.g, players in black shirts).
- Where is the filter? Before or after Information processing?
• “Cocktail Party” Effect (eg, at a party, other conversations are filtered
out but if someone yells your name you hear it. Therefore the filter is
not only before information processing.)
• High Cognitive Load moves the filter forward.

Only information that is attended to can be remembered.

- Dividing attention during a task leads to Impaired memory (e.g., word frequency
in a conversation).
- Using Social Media in the classroom.

1.2 Introduction to Memory

• What is memory?
– Reconstructive Process: Not a recording
– It’s selective, and details are excluded, altered, and added
– (Memories that are recalled more often are less accurate
because inaccuracies are added every time a memory is
recalled)
 • How does memory work?
– Encoding: enter information into memory.
– Storage: maintain information in memory.
– Recall: retrieve information from memory.
– Forgetting: deficiency in one or more of these

1.3 Encoding
• Passive Encoding: simple information may be encoded automatically (e.g.,
parked car; last night’s TV show; word frequencies).

• Active Encoding: more complex information requires effortful encoding (e.g.,

course content; textbook).
– Massed Practice: learning proceeds over one long session (e.g., cramming
the night before).
– Spaced Practice: learning is broken up into a number of short sessions over
a longer period of time.

1.4 Levels of Processing

• Deeper processing of information produces more durable Memory Coding.

1.5 Enriched Semantic Encoding

• Elaboration: association of new information with previously stored information
(e.g., metaphor; examples).

• A Mental Image: a mental image to assist memory (Paivio, Smythe, & Yuille,
1968).
– High vs. Low Imagery concepts.

– Dual-coding.
 • Self/Referent: relating new information to
self.
– Rogers, Kuiper, & Kirker (1977):
replicated Craik & Tulving (1975) with list of
adjectives applied to self.
– Not just positive adjectives.

– Reference to another person does not work.

1.6 Mnemonics
Strategies or tricks for improving memory coding; convert random sequences of
information into meaningful information.

• Treble clef

– Notes on Spaces?

– Notes on Lines?

• Stalagmites vs. Stalactites

Stalagmites = ground
Stalactites = ceiling

• Letter before J? Alphabet song

1.7 Sensory Register (Memory)

• Memory system that momentarily preserves accurate Sensory Information.

• Separate subsystems for each sensory input.

 – Visual information (.25 - .50 sec); Sperling (1960).

– Auditory information (5 sec).

– Eidetic (Photographic) Memory.

• After Image: memory endures after stimulus is extinguished.

– Short duration limits “double-exposure”.

1.8 Short-Term Memory
• Limited capacity memory system that retains information for 20 to 30 seconds.

– Rehearsal can extend duration (e.g., Inculcation).

– Peterson & Peterson (1959).

– Most information required for short-time (e.g., traffic light) and then
discarded.

• Capacity is 7 ± 2 items (Miller, 1956).

– However, items (words) can be combined into chunks.

– Cowan, Chen, & Rouder (2004) propose 3 to 4 chunks available.

1.9 Baddeley’s Model of Working Memory

1.10 Long Term memory

• Memory system involved in durable storage of information.
 – Unlimited? Permanent?
– Distinct from STM(Short term memory)? Case study of Henry Molaison
(H.M.)

• Information may be organized by semantic meaning:

– Semantic Networks: spreading activation.
– Clustering (Bousfield, 1953): 60 words, 4 semantic categories (animals,
vegetables, names, professions) presented in random order.
– Case Study of M.D.
• Information may be organized by phonetic sound:
– Tip-of-the-tongue : errors begin with same letter or sound; same number of
syllables and stress pattern.

1.11 Types of Long-term Memory

1.12 Three-box Model of Memory Storage
• Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968): Three functionally distinct memory stores; not
associated with distinct anatomical structures.

1.13 “Flashbulb” Memories

• Vivid memories of events with strong Emotional component or consequence
(e.g., first kiss; traumatic event).
– Evidence that LTM is permanent?

– More accurate?

• Talarico & Rubin (2003):

– Sept 11th, 2001 & mundane event: Retested at 1, 6, or 32 weeks.

– Vividness & confidence was higher for terrorist attacks, but both memories
contained inaccuracies.
1.14 Forgetting
• Forgetting Curves:

– Hermann Ebinghaus (1885) used nonsense syllables (BAF; ZOK).

– Tested RECALL of lists after different time intervals.

– Most forgetting occurs shortly after learning.

• Forgetting curves less steep for:

– Meaningful material (e.g., High School classmates).

– Recognition tasks.
– Retrieval cue: stimulus that aid recall.

• What happens during forgetting?

– Information is Unavailable (no longer in memory).
– Information is Inaccessible (can’t be recalled from memory).

1.15 Decay & Interference

• Decay: information stored is eventually lost unless accessed and rehearsed.

– More indicative of sensory and STM

• Interference: similar pieces of information interfere with one another in either

storage or retrieval.
– Retroactive Interference: recent information interferes with retrieval of
existing information (Massed practice).
– Proactive Interference: existing information interferes with storage of new
information (e.g., maiden names).
– More indicative of LTM.
 1.16 Serial Position Effects
• Words occurring Early and Late in the
series are more likely to be recalled.
– Primary Effect: words already
processed (transferred to LTM).
– Recency Effect: words still in
STM.

1.17 Encoding Specificity Principle (ST)

• Recall of information is better when conditions during Encoding and Retrieval are
similar.
– External Specificity: memories are easier to retrieve when context of
retrieval matches context at time of encoding.
• Names.

• Something from another room.

– Internal Specificity: retrieval is better when one’s mental, emotional, or

physical state matches state at time of encoding.
• Mood.

• Alcohol.

– Stronger for free recall than recognition.

1.18 Eyewitness Testimony

• Loftus & Palmer (1974): Car accident film.

– Leading Questions (that presuppose a truth) can change memory of events

 and create False memories!
– Eyewitness testimony needs independent corroboration!

1.19 Children’s Testimony

• Childhood testimony of abuse:

– Increase of reported child abuse in 70s and 80s; many cases were found to
be fabricated; were the children lying?

• Children’s memory is equal to adult memory, but children are more Suggestible.

– Police interrogations look for confirmatory evidence not exculpatory.

• Repeat questions.

• Disappointed if no allegation; praise for making allegations.

• Imagination Inflation: “Suppose there was abuse…”

• Confabulation: “Other’s remember abuse…”

– Garven et. al. (1998): “Did you see the man push the teacher?”

1.20 Organic Amnesia

• Organic Amnesia: partial or extensive loss of memory due to organic cause; brain
injury (e.g., car accident).
– Retrograde amnesia: loss of memories for events occurring prior to injury.
• Events leading up to injury.
• Permanent loss.

– Anterograde amnesia: loss of memories for events occurring after injury.

• Inability to form new LTM (H.M.)
2 Learning
2.1 Introduction to Learning
• Learning: relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs because of
experience.
• Behaviorism: behaviour can be studied without referring to mental states.
– Classical Conditioning (Pavlov & Watson).
– Operant Conditioning (Skinner).
– Observational Learning & Imitation.
• Social-Cognitive Learning: reintroduced mental processes to learning.
– Expectations & Beliefs.

2.2 Classical Conditioning

• Learning that results from associations of Neutral environmental stimuli with
Automatic responses.

• Pavlov’s salivation studies:

– Used food to induce salivation.

– Dogs salivated to neutral stimuli associated with food.

– “Conditional” Reflex; response conditional on environment.

2.3 Unconditioned Reflex

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in the
absence of learning.

• Unconditioned Response (UR): reflexive response elicited by a stimulus in the

absence of learning.

• Physiological response designed by Natural Selection.

2.4 Conditioned Reflex

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): initially neutral stimulus comes to elicit conditioned
response.

• Conditioned Response (CR): reflexive response elicited by the conditional

stimulus.
 • Physiological response resulting from Learning.

• Neutral stimulus must Precede the US.

• Short interval (< 1 sec).

2.5 Extinction
• Conditioned reflex is Extinguished if the CS is subsequently and repeatedly
presented alone.
– Not forgetting.
– Spontaneous Recovery: conditioned reflex reappears on subsequent
sessions but weaker.
– Multiple sessions required for complete extinction.

2.6 Higher-Order Conditioning

• Neutral stimulus can become a CS by repeatedly pairing it with another CS.
2.7 Generalization & Discrimination
• Generalization : Conditioned reflex can be generalized to similar neutral stimuli.

• Discrimination: Conditioned reflex might not be generalized to similar neutral

stimuli that fail to predict US.

2.8 Conditioned Phobia

2.9 Conditioned taste Aversion

2.10 Introduction to Operant Conditioning

• Classical conditioning: conditioned reflex results from association of neutral
stimulus with US (acquisition of automatic reflexes).
• Operant conditioning: particular responses increase or decrease depending on
their consequences (voluntary actions).
– Edward L. Thorndike.
– B. F. Skinner.
– Reinforcement & Punishment.
– Learning Schedules.
– Shortcomings of operant conditioning.
2.11 Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949)
• First to study operant conditioning by placing cats in a puzzle box.

• Ineffective responses became less frequent; Effective responses became more

frequent.

• Law of Effect: behaviours that lead to “Satisfying” results are “Stamped in”
whereas those that lead to “Unsatisfying” results are “Stamped out”.

2.12 B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)

• Radical Behaviorism: rejected use of “satisfying” or “unsatisfying” as explanations
for behaviour.
• Refined theory of operational conditioning.
• Developed terminology used today: reinforcement, punishment, extinction.
• Freewill is an illusion!
• Inventor:
– Skinner Box.
– Cumulative Recorder.
– Air Crib (heir conditioner).
–
2.13 Consequences of Behaviour
• Reinforcement: stimulus increases the response that it follows.

– Primary Reinforcers : inherently reinforce the response and typically satisfy

a physiological need (food); deprived state.
– Secondary Reinforcers : acquired reinforcing qualities through association
with other reinforcers (money).

• Punishment: stimulus decreases the response that it follows.

– Primary punishers are stimuli that are inherently punishing (pain).

– Secondary punishers have acquired punishing properties through

association with other punishers (fine).

• Neutral Consequences : no effect on response.

2.14 Positive & Negative Reinforcement & Punishment

2.15 Stimulus Generalization & Discrimination

• Stimulus Generalization tendency for a response that has been reinforced in the
presence of one stimulus to occur in the presence of other similar stimuli.
– Pigeon learns to peck a circle 🡪 Also pecks an oval.
– I like Pilsners 🡪 I would like to try other Beers.
• Stimulus Discrimination: tendency for a response to occur in the presence of one
stimulus but not in the presence of other stimuli, even if similar.
– Pressing a lever only when green light is on.
– I like Pilsners, but I don’t like American Pale Ales (APA).
• Discriminative Stimulus:
– Keeping dog off the couch.
 – Raising hand in class.

2.16 Learning Schedules

• Continuous schedule: response is always reinforced; leads to faster learning;
faster extinction.

• Intermittent schedule: response is sometimes reinforced; slower learning but

more resistant to extinction.
– Skinner (1948): “superstitious” pigeons.
2.17 Intermittent Ratio Schedules
• Fixed-ratio schedule: reinforcement occurs after fixed number of responses.

– High rates of responding; performance drops following reinforcement.

– Quotas; piece-work.

• Variable-ratio schedule: reinforcement occurs after some average number of

responses.
– High, steady rates of responding; resistant to extinction.

– Slot machines; door to door sales; fishing.

2.18 Intermittent Interval Schedules

• Fixed-interval schedule: reinforcement occurs after the first response following a
fixed time interval.
– Responding Stops, begins again close to end of interval.

– Develop sharp sense of time.

– Clock watchers;
baking cookies.

• Variable-interval schedule: reinforcement occurs after the first response following an average tim

– Slow but steady

response rate.
– Surfing.
2.19 Shaping & Biological Limits
• Procedure in which Successive Approximations of a desired response are
reinforced.

• Conditioning most effective when utilizing inborn tendencies.

• Conditioning least effective when response is inconsistent with inborn tendencies

– Breland & Breland (1961): rooting instinct in pigs.

– Instinctive drift: tendency for an organism to revert to instinctive behavior.

2.20 Misguided Reinforcement

• Reinforcement is tied to behavior: reinforcing mediocrity encourages mediocrity.

• Extrinsic Reinforcers: originate outside the individual and not inherently related to
the activity being reinforced (money).

• Intrinsic Reinforcers: originate inside the individual and inherently related to

activity being reinforced (pride of accomplishment).

• Extrinsic reinforcers can diminish effectiveness of intrinsic reinforcers (Lepper,

Green & Nisbett, 1973).
2.21 Social Learning
• Learning by Trial and Error is inefficient and dangerous.
– Poisonous plants & mushrooms.
– Technology (building a kayak).
• Albert Bandura’s Bobo-doll experiments.
– Four-year-olds observed an adult model interacting either aggressively or
non-aggressively.
• Social Learning theory (1940s): Most human learning is acquired through
Observation of a model in particular context.
– Observation and Imitation.

• How to build fire or use a weapon in the ancestral environment.

• Putting clothes in the laundry basket.

– Positive & negative consequences to others (Vicarious learning).

2.22 Social-Cognitive Learning

• Social-Cognitive theory (1960s) reintroduced mental events into approaches
investigating learning:
– Cognitive processes enable learning.

• Attention, memory, Reproduction, motivation.

• Attitudes, Beliefs, expectations.

3 Research Methods in Behavioural Science
3.1 Anatomy of a Research Article
• Abstract: Summary of hypotheses, methods, and results.
• Introduction:
– Outlines research question; reviews past research and theory; introduces
formal hypotheses.
• Methods: Describes the participants, procedure and materials used.
• Results: Describes what was found; tables & graphs; statistics.
• Discussion
– Are results consistent or inconsistent with hypotheses?
– Compare with past research and suggest practical applications.
• References

3.2 Constructs & Operational Definitions

• Psychological Construct: Abstract psychological concept.

– Aggression.

– Intelligence.

– Attractiveness.

– Helping.

• Operational Definition: Construct defined in terms of how it is to be Measured.

– Number of times a child hits a bobo doll.

– I.Q. score.

– Rate .
3.3 Independent & Dependent Variables
• Independent Variable (IV): the “Cause” variable.

– Naturally occurring in a correlational study.

– Manipulated in an experiment.

• Dependent Variable (DV): the “Effect” variable; depends on the independent

variable.
– Measured by the investigator.

• Confounding variable: variable closely associated with the independent variable

(alternative “cause”).
– Person or Situation.

3.4 Correlational Studies

• Investigate the relationship between two variables.

– Studying naturally occurring groups (no Random assignment).

– Relationship between violent media and aggressive behaviour.

3.5 Experiments
• Investigate the effect of the IV on the DV.

– Experimenter Manipulates the IV and then observes what happens to the

DV.
– Random Assignment of participants to one of two conditions.

3.6 Cause & Effect

• Three criteria to establish cause & effect relationship.

– Temporal Precedence – Cause must precede effect.

– Covariation – Cause and effect must occur together.

– Alternative (confounding) explanations must be eliminated.

3.7 Causal Possibilities in Correlational Design

3.8 Conclusion
• In order to Modify behavior, it is necessary to establish cause and effect
relationships.

• Cause and effect relationships can be established using Experimental studies, but
not Correlational studies.

• Correlational studies are useful for Description & generation of new theories.

• Many topics in psychology must be studied using correlational studies for Practical
or Ethical reasons.
3.9 Introduction to Statistics
• Statistics – describing events Mathematically.

• Descriptive Statistics: used to describe, summarize, and simplify a set of

observations.
– Central Tendency.

– Variability.

– Correlation.

• Inferential Statistics: used to infer characteristics about the population from a

sample.
– t-test.

– F-test.
3.10 Sampling Error
•The discrepancy observed between a Sample Statistic and its corresponding
Population Parameter.
•Sampling error varies from sample to sample

3.11 Measures of Central Tendency

•Describe typical scores.
–Median: middle score; best measure if there are outliers (extreme scores).
–Mode: most frequently observed score; used for qualitative data.
–Mean: arithmetic mean; most frequently used measure because sampling error is
lowest.

3.12 Population Distribution Shape & Central Tendency

3.13 Measures of Variability
• Describe the spread of the scores.
– Range: Difference between the highest score and the lowest score.
– Variance: Average amount of squared deviation from the arithmetic mean:
• s2 is the variance of a Sample.
• σ2 is the variance of the Population.
– Standard Deviation: Average amount of deviation from the arithmetic mean:
• s is the standard deviation of the Sample.
• σ is the standard deviation of the Population.

3.14 Correlation Coefficient

• Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (r): describes the relationship
between two variables:
– Direction of the relationship (Positive or Negative)
– Magnitude of the relationship
3.15 Inferential Statistics
• Default assumption: Observed difference is due to Sampling Error.

• Use Probability theory to determine the likelihood that the difference is due to
sampling error.

• If Probability is very small (<.05):

– Conclude sampling error did NOT cause the difference.
– Therefore, treatment must have caused the difference.
3.16 Comparing Means
•Results:
–Statistically Significant: probability that the observed difference is due to sampling
error is very low; therefore, difference must be due to treatment.
–Not Statistically Significant: probability that the observed difference is due to
sampling error is high; therefore, not enough evidence to conclude that treatment
caused the difference.
3.17 Summary
•Statistics are used to describe events Mathematically; Descriptive Statistics are
used to describe characteristics of the sample whereas Inferential Statistics are used
to infer characteristics of the population from the sample.

•The Mean is commonly used to describe typical scores; Standard Deviation is used to
describe the spread of scores; Correlation Coefficient are used to describe the
relationship between two variables.
1.2 How Psychology Became A Science
1.2.1 How Psychology Became A Science
Ancient Egyptians recorded patterns in head injuries. Different areas of injury caused
different effects (E.G. Visual impairment, higher-order cognitive abilities.). Though
primitive it was an important first step.

1.2.2 Psychology’s Philosophical + Scientific Origins

Science is a philosophy of knowledge stemming from 2 fundamental beliefs: Empiricism
and Determinism.

Empiricism: A philosophical tenant that knowledge comes through experience.

- “Seeing is believing”, what we see or measure should be repeatable under the
same circumstances. (Scientific method)
- Must also be logical

Determinism: The belief that all events are governed by cause-and-effect relationships.
- There is a debate between free will and determinism.
- Behaviour is determined by both internal (genes) and external (culture) factors.

1.2.3 Influences From The Ancients: Philospofical Insights Into Behaviour

In ancient Greece Hippocrates (460-370 BCE) developed the world’s first personality
classification scheme. He believed that 4 humours combined in the body to determine
personality and moods.

Galen of Pergamon (127-217 CE) refined the theory to create temperaments (emotional
and personality characteristics that remained constant over a lifetime). The 4
temperaments were:

Sanguine (Blood) - A tendency to be impulsive, pleasure-seeking and charismatic.

Choleric (Yellow Bile) - A tendency to be energetic, ambitious and aggressive.
Melancholic (Black Bile) - A tendency to be independent, a perfectionist and introverted.
Phlegmatic (Phlegm) - A tendency to be quiet, relaxed and content with life.

- Psychology did not benefit initially from the scientific revolution and the scientific
method in the 1500s and 1600s because of the Zeitgeist.
Zeitgeist: German word meaning “spirit of the time”. Refers to a general set of beliefs
during a period of history.

During the 1500s and 1600s, people weren’t ready to accept some behaviour may be
the result of predictable psychical law. Doing so would suggest Materialism.
Materialism: The belief that humans and other living beings are composed exclusively of
physical matter. (No soul)

The opposing belief is Dualism.

Dualism: There are properties of humans that are not material. (Like a soul)

Early influences on psychology came from the natural and physical sciences.

1.2.4 Influences From Physics: Experimenting With The Mind

Initial studies into scientific psychology were done by physicists and physiologists.

Gustav Fechner (1801 - 1887) wanted to know how the physical and mental worlds
interact.

Study:
Fechner put a 0.45kg weight on the volunteer’s one hand and a 2.2kg weight on the
other hand. He then put an additional 113g weight in both hands. Volunteers reported
that the 113g in the hand with the 2.2kg weight was heavier than the 113g in the other
hand.

Perceived changes like this can occur with brightness, loudness, etc.

Gustav also coined the phrase Psychophysics.

Psychophysics: The study of the relationship between the physical world and the mental
representation of that world.

1.2.5 Influences From Evolutionary Theory: The Adaptive Functions Of Behaviour

Charles Darwin (1809-1892) noticed that isolated animal groups often have minor
physical differences. He created the theory of Natural Selection.

Natural Selection: Genetically inherited traits that contribute to survival and reproduction
are more likely to be passed down to future generations.
Darwin also pointed out that behaviour is shaped by natural selection just as much as
psychical characteristics.

1.2.6 Influences From Medicine: Diagnosis And Treatments

Medicine contributed a lot to the study of psychology, specifically to the study of Clinical
Psychology.

Clinical Psychology: The field of psychology focused on the diagnosis and treatment of
disorders.

Both medicine and psychology studied the localization of brain function. It was studied
in two ways, the first was Phrenology.

Phrenology: A theory that the brain consisted of 27 “organs” and each organ could
correspond to a different mental trait. The skell could be measured to determine the size
of each “organ”. The bigger the organ, the more prominent the trait.

The theory was made by Franz Gall (1758 - 1828) and Johann Spurzheim (1776 -
1832).

The other localization focused on the study of brain injuries. 3 main cases were studied.

- Paul Broca found a patient had difficulties with spoken language after damage to
the left frontal lobes.
- Karl Wernicke found that damage in another area of the left hemisphere also
caused problems comprehending language.
- Doctors in Vermont noted that a patient became more impulsive and childlike
after damage to his frontal lobes.

An Austrian doctor named Franz Mesmer thought magnets could redirect metallic
substances in the body and cure insanity. The cure worked for some patients either
because of the placebo effect or because it was a form of hypnosis.

Another Austrian doctor named Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939) took note of Mesmer’s
hypnosis and used it to cure some of his patients from hysterical paralysis. A disorder
where patients lose feeling in a body part for no biological reason. This led Freud to
develop his theory of Psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis: A psychological approach that attempts to explain how behaviour and
personality are influenced by unconscious processes.

Freud thought that consciousness includes perceptions, thoughts, a sense of self and
the sense we control ourselves.
Freud thought unconsciousness is forgotten memories from early childhood and urges
to fulfill self-serving sexual and aggressive impulses.

Freud thought hypnosis could allow for a more direct access to someone’s unconscious
mind.

Freud created the Medical Model for treating disorders.

Medical Model: Use of medical ideas to treat disorders of emotions, thought and
behaviour.

Freud also incorporated evolution into his ideas, mainly how urges result from evolved
behaviours pushing people to survive and reproduce.

Finally, Freud incorporated a lot of thinking in regard to how early life experiences
influence our behaviour.

1.2.7 The Influence Of Social Sciences: Measuring And Comparing Humans.

The fifth influence is from the social sciences of economics, sociology and
anthropology.

An early pioneer in measuring perception and applying statistical analysis was Sir
Francis Galton.

Galton studies the differences between people. He noticed achievement seemed to run
in families. He believed some people were better because they had better genes.

Galton also created Eminence.

Eminence: A way of measuring a combination of ability, morality and achievement.

Galton was one of the first to research nurture vs nature but he completely disregarded
the nurture element.

Galton pursued eugenics as a scientific justification for his theory.

He pushed for social programs to encourage intelligent white people to have children
and to encourage non-white and criminals to not.

1.2.8 The Beginnings Of Contemporary Psychology

Before psychology became its own discipline researchers worked across different fields
to study human behaviour.

In the 1800s the zeitgeist changed and studying behaviour became acceptable.

1.2.9 Structuralism And Functionalism: The Beginnings Of Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920) is known for establishing psychology as its own field.

He researched “introspection”.

A trained volunteer would experience a stimulus and then report each individual
sensation they could identify. (Ex. a steel ball would be reported as cold, hard, smooth.)

Wundt said these experiences were mental “atoms” that formed the molecules of
experience.

Another experiment was on reaction time. 2 metal balls swung together and made a
sound. Wundt found that volunteers took the length of a second to react which led him
to reason that mental activity is not instantaneous.

One of Wundt’s students, Edward Titchener used “introspection” to try and map out the
structure of human consciousness. His line of research is called Structuralism.

Structuralism: An attempt to analyze human conscious experience by breaking it down

into basic elements and to understand how these elements work together.

He believed there were a limited number of sensations similar to how there are a limited
number of elements in chemistry. He thought that sensations could be combined to
create complex compounds like how elements can be combined. (Ex. H + O2 = H2O.)

Another scholar named William James (1842 - 1910) studies Functionalism.

Functionalism: The study of the purpose and function of behaviour and the conscious
experience.
Functionalists believed that to understand a behaviour you must determine what
purpose it served over the course of evolution.

1.2.10 The Rise Of Behaviourism

In the 20th century, scientists wanted to study how organisms learn to anticipate their
bodily functions. Edwin Twitmymer (1873 - 1943) did a study on this.

A contraption with a rubber mallet would tap a volunteer’s knee causing a reflex kick. A
bell would ring before the tap. Eventually, the machine broke and the bell would ring but
the mallet wouldn’t move. The volunteer’s still kicked showing the reflex had been
trained through classical conditioning.

This study became a focus of Behaviourism.

Behaviourism: The Study of observable behaviour. (No reference to mental events.)

John B. Watson (1878 - 1958) was the main researcher into Behaviourism. He believed
people’s personalities were from a lifetime of conditioning. He also believed genes
played no part in who we are.

1.2.11 Radical Behaviourism

Edward Thorndike (1874 - 1949) found that the frequency of behaviours could be
changed based on whether the consequences of those actions led to “satisfaction”.

B. F. Skinner refined this by studying the effects of rewards an punishment instead of

“satisfaction”.

1.2.12 Social and Cultural Influences

Behaviour can also be affected by the people around us.

Norman Triplett (1861 - 1931) did a study into this.

He found that cyclists ride faster if they are with other cyclists.

This type of psychology took off after the second world war because people wanted to
find out how regular people became Nazi prison guards. The research evolved into what
we now call Social Psychology.

Social Psychology: The study of the influence of other people on behaviour.

Not all groups of people acted the same during WW2. This observation led to
Personality Psychology.

Personality Psychology: The study of how different personality characteristics change

how we think and act.

Kurt Lewin (1890 - 1947) suggested the formula:

B (Behaviour) = f (Function of) { I (Individual), E (Environment)}

B = f {I, E}

1.2.13 The Cognitive Revolution

While Americans focused on behaviourism Europeans focused on the inside of the
mind.

Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850 - 1909) studied memory.

Frederic Bartlett (1886 - 1969) found that memory is shaped by what we want to
remember.

Another precursor to cognitive psychology is Gestalt Psychology.

Gestalt Psychology: An approach focusing on the whole picture rather than parts.

It wasn’t until 1968 that Cognitive Psychology was given its name.

Cognitive Psychology: The study of psychological processes such as memory, thinking

and language.

1.2.14 Humanistic Psychology Emerges

Free will was dismissed by the 2 main approaches, Freudian psychology and
behaviourism in the mid-20th century. Humanistic Psychology was a result of this.

Humanistic Psychology: Focuses on the unique aspects of individuals. Believes

everyone acts of their own free will and that humans are different from animals.

Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987) and Abraham Maslow (1908 - 1970) both focused on how to
live a good life.

Humanistic psychologists wanted to know the meaning of personal experience.

1.2.15 The Brain And Behaviour
Donald Hebb (1904 - 1985) a Canadian neuroscientist studied human abilities.

Hebb conducted studies examining how brain cells change over the course of learning.

He found that when a brain cell consistently stimulates another cell, metabolic and
physical changes occur to strengthen this relationship.

He made Hebb’s Law, which shows that memory is actually related to activity at the
cellular level. It also reinforced that behaviour can be studied at many levels (Ex.
neurons to the whole brain.)

More evidence for the relationship between the brain and behaviours came from Wilder
Penfield (1891 - 1976) and Herbert Jasper. Penfield developed a surgical technique to
treat epilepsy.

This procedure removes cells from the brain regions where the seizures began;
preventing seizures from spreading.

Penfield found a way to map out the functions of the surrounding brain regions by
electrically stimulating specific areas of the brain while the patient was under local
anesthetic (i.e., was awake). The patient then reported the sensations they
experienced.

1.2.16 Emerging Themes In Psychology

Psychology continues to expand today. The next topics are important themes in modern
psychology.

1.2.17 Psychology Of Women

Anna Freud (1895 - 1982) and Karen Horney (1885 - 1952) made contributions to our
understanding of personality.

Prior to 1960, people thought women were fundamentally more emotional and made
worse leaders than men. Sandra Bem was a main researcher who worked to change
these views.

Women’s psychology also focuses on experiences unique to females like pregnancy

and issues like women’s health and violence towards women.
1.2.18 Comparing Cultures
Cross-cultural psychology is the field that compares individual and group behaviour
among cultures.

1.2.19 The Neuroimaging Explosion

fMRI can detect and visually show brain activity. It is used in both Cognitive
Neuroscience and Social Neuroscience.

Cognitive Neuroscience: Combines elements of cognitive psychology and

biopsychology.

Social Neuroscience: Using fMRI to study social behaviours.

1.2.20 The Search For The Positive

Positive Psychology has been a rapidly growing field.

Positive Psychology: Focusing on positivity, strength and potential instead of

pathologies or negative events.

Positivity has been linked with improvements in cognitive abilities and to changes in
neural pathways associated with attention.

1.2.21 Psychology In The Real World

Applied Psychology: Takes place in real-life places like school or work.

Human Factor Psychology: Ensures technology is intuitive and efficient.

2.1 Principles Of Scientific Research
2.1.1 Five Characteristics Of Quality Scientific Research
1. It is based on measurements that are objective, valid, and reliable.
2. It can be generalized.
3. It uses techniques that reduce bias.
4. It is made public.
5. It can be replicated

2.1.2 Scientific Measurement: Objectivity

Objective Measurements: The measure of an entity or behaviour that, within an allowed
margin of error, is consistent across instruments and observers.

Variable: The object, concept, or event being controlled, manipulated, or measured by a

scientist.

Operational Definitions: Statements that describe the procedures (or operations) and
specific measures that are used to record observations.

2.1.3 Scientific Measurement: Reliability And Validity

Validity: The degree to which an instrument or procedure actually measures what it
claims to measure.

Reliability: Consistent and stable answers across multiple observations and points in
time.

Test-Retest Reliability: Examines whether scores on a given measure of behaviour are

consistent across test sessions.

Alternate-Forms Reliability: Examines whether different forms of the same test produce
the same results.

Inter-Rater Reliability: Multiple raters arrive at a very similar conclusion.

2.1.4 Generalizability of Results

Generalizability: The degree to which one set of results can be applied to other
situations, individuals, or events.
Population: The group that researchers want to generalize about.

Sample: A select group of population members.

Random Sample: A sampling technique in which every individual in a population has an

equal chance of being included.

Convenience Samples: Samples of individuals who are the most readily available.

Ecological Validity: The results of a laboratory study can be applied to or repeated in the
natural environment.

2.1.5 Sources Of Bias In Psychological Research

Hawthorne Effect: A behaviour change that occurs as a result of being observed.

Social Desirability (Or Socially Desirable Responding): Research participants

responding in ways that increase the chances that they will be viewed favourably.

2.1.6 Demand Characteristics And Participant Behaviour

Demand Characteristics: Inadvertent cues given off by the experimenter or the
experimental context that provide information about how participants are expected to
behave.

2.1.7 Techniques That Reduce Bias

Anonymity: Each individual’s responses are recorded without any name or other
personal information that could link a particular individual to specific results.

Confidentiality: Results will be seen only by the researcher.

Single-Blind Study: Participants do not know the true purpose of the study, or else do
not know which type of treatment they are receiving (e.g., a placebo or a drug).

Double-Blind Study: A study in which neither the participant nor the experimenter knows
the exact treatment for any individual.

2.1.8 Sharing the Results

Peer Review: A process in which papers submitted for publication in scholarly journals
are read and critiqued by experts in the specific field of study.

2.1.9 Replication
Replication: The process of repeating a study and finding a similar outcome each time.
2.1.10 Five Characteristics Of Poor Research
1. It produces untestable hypotheses.
2. It relies on anecdotes and personal experiences.
3. It includes a biased selection of data.
4. It makes appeals to authority rather than facts.
5. It makes appeals to common sense.

2.1.11 Untestable Hypotheses

Falsifiable: Meaning that the hypothesis is precise enough that it could be proven false.
2.3 Ethics In Psychological Research
2.3.1 Promoting The Welfare Of Research Participants
Research Ethics Board (REB): A committee of researchers and officials at an institution
charged with the protection of human research participants.

2.3.2 Obtaining Informed Consent

Informed Consent: A potential volunteer must be informed (know the purpose, tasks,
and risks involved in the study) and give consent (agree to participate based on the
information provided) without pressure.

Deception: Misleading or only partially informing participants of the true topic or

hypothesis under investigation.

Full consent includes:

- Freedom to choose.
- Equal opportunities.
- The right to withdraw.
- The right to withhold responses.

Debriefing: The researchers should explain the true nature of the study, and especially
the nature of and reason for any deception.

2.3.3 REBs For Animal-Based Research

1. The basic care of laboratory animals. That is, providing appropriate housing,
feeding, and sanitation for the species.
2. Minimization of any pain or discomfort experienced by the animals.
3. It is rare for a study to require discomfort, when it is necessary, the researchers
must ensure that the pain can be justified by the potential benefits of the
research.
4. The same standards apply if animals are to be sacrificed for the research.
8.1 Organization Of Knowledge
8.1.1 Concepts And Categories
Concept: The mental representation of an object, event, or idea.

You do not have just one concept for chair, one for table, and one for sofa. Instead,
each of these concepts can be divided into smaller groups with more precise labels,
such as arm chair or coffee table.

Categories: Clusters of interrelated concepts. (Ex, chair, sofa and coffee table are all
furniture.)

8.1.2 Rule-Based Categorization

Rule-Based Categorization: Categorizing objects or events according to a certain set of
rules or by a specific set of features. Similar to dictionary definitions.

One of the major problems we confront in this process is Graded Membership.

Graded Membership: The observation that some concepts appear to make better
category members than others.

Psychologists have researched rule-based categorization using a behavioural measure

known as the Sentence-Verification Technique.

Sentence-Verification Technique - A technique to grade how well a concept fits a

category by recording how much time it takes a volunteer to sort that concept into the
given category.

8.1.3 Categorization By Comparison

Exemplar: A specific example that best represents a category. (Concept of bird brings a
sparrow to mind)

Prototype: A mental representation of an average category member. (Concept of bird

brings ambiguous “bird” to mind but no specific species.)
Exemplars and prototypes can be compared to real life to determine what categories
something fits in. This is categorization by comparison.

Categorization by comparison explains why it takes longer to recognize an ostrich as a

bird than a sparrow.

8.1.4 Networks And Hierarchies

Semantic Network: An interconnected set of nodes (or concepts) and the links that join
them to form a category.

The second level (with bird and fish) is also called the basic level category.
- Basic level categories are the terms used most often in conversation.
- They are the easiest to pronounce.
- They are the level at which prototypes exist.
- They are the level at which most thinking occurs.

Superordinate categories (Top level wit animal) are used when you are unsure or
something is ambiguous.

Subordinate level categories (bottom level with robin, emu, trout) are used when there is
something special about the concept or when you have a lot of knowledge about the
concept.

People
associate
concepts with the categories closest faster (eg, a robin is a bird faster than a robin is an
animal, a robin has wings faster than a robin eats.)
8.1.5 Working The Scientific Literacy Model
Hearing the word fruit might lead you to think of an apple, and apple may lead you to
think of a computer, which may lead you to a paper that is due. These associations
show the concept of Priming.

Priming: The activation of individual concepts in long-term memory.

An experiment by Jennifer Coane suggests that priming occurs in everyday life using
Lexical Decision.

Lexical Decision: An individual watches a computer screen as strings of letters are

presented. The participant must respond as quickly as possible to indicate whether the
letters spell a word (e.g., desk) or are a non-word (e.g., sekd).

Coane invited volunteers to participate in lexical decision tasks about holidays at

different times of the year. Sure enough, without any laboratory priming, words such as
nutcracker and reindeer showed priming effects at times when they were “in season” in
December, relative to other times of the year. Because the researchers did not instigate
the priming, it must have been the holiday spirit at work: Decorations and
advertisements may serve as constant primers.

Priming is weakest when applied to large, physical concepts such as a person’s posture
movements. However, it is very powerful when applied to the way language activities
concepts and categories

8.1.6 Experience And Categorization

Experience helps us use comparison techniques quickly and accurately. However, there
are also times when our reliance on previous experience can lead us astray.

In a series of studies with medical students and practising physicians, Geoffrey Norman
found that recent exposure to an example from one category can bias how people
diagnose new cases.

In one experiment, medical students were taught to diagnose different skin conditions
using written rules as well as photographs of these diseases. Some of the photographs
were typical examples of that disorder, whereas other photographs were unusual cases
that resembled other disorders. When tested later, the participants were more likely to
rely on the previously viewed photographs than they were on the rules.
8.1.7 Categories In The Brain
Studies of neurological patients provide a perspective on how memories are organized
in the brain.

Some patients with damage to the temporal lobes have trouble identifying objects such
as pictures of animals or vegetables despite the fact that they were able to describe the
different shapes that made up those objects (i.e., they could still see).

The fact that these deficits were for particular categories of objects was intriguing, as it
suggested that damaging certain parts of the brain could impair the ability to recognize
some categories while leaving others unaffected.

Because these problems were isolated to certain categories, these patients were
diagnosed as having a disorder known as category-specific visual agnosia (or CSVA).

There simply isn’t enough space for every category to have its own space in the brain.
Instead, it is proposed that evolutionary pressures led to the development of specialized
circuits in the brain for a small group of categories that were important for our survival.
These categories included animals, fruits and vegetables, members of our own species,
and possibly tools.

8.1.8 Culture And Categories

The way we categorize objects depends to an extent on what we have learned about
those objects in our culture. (Ex, in North America, cows are referred to as “livestock.”
whereas in India, where cows are regarded as sacred, such a category would be
nonsense.)

One of the best-known relationships between culture and categorization is found in the
study of Folk Biology.

Folk Biology: The ways people in various communities and cultures think about the
natural world in their daily lives. (Ex, a child in North America will call a white-tailed deer
a deer, whereas a child in Myanmar will call it a white-tailed deer.)

In addition, how objects are related to each other differs considerably across cultures.
When asked which two objects go together Japanese students coupled cows with
grass, because grass is what cows eat. In the United States, however, students tended
to group cows with chickens, because both are animals.

Researchers have even found differences in brain function when people of different
cultural backgrounds view and categorize objects.

There are differences in brain activity when Westerners and East Asians view photos of
objects, such as an animal, against a background of grass and trees. Areas of the brain
devoted to processing both objects (lateral parts of the occipital lobes) and background
(the parahippocampal gyrus, an area underneath the hippocampus) become activated
when Westerners view these photos, whereas only areas devoted to background
processes become activated in East Asians.
8.2 Problem Solving, Judgement, And Decision
Making
8.2.1 Defining And Solving Problems
Problem Solving: Accomplishing a goal when the solution or the path to the solution is
not clear.

8.2.2 Problem-Solving Strategies And Techniques

When we think logically, we rely on algorithms.

Algorithms: Problem-solving strategies based on a series of rules.

When we think intuitively, we rely on Heuristics.

Heuristics: Problem-solving strategies that stem from prior experiences and provide an
educated guess as to what is the most likely solution

8.2.3 Cognitive Obstacles

Mental Set: A cognitive obstacle that occurs when an individual attempts to apply a
routine solution to what is actually a new type of problem.

Mental sets can occur in many different situations. For instance, a person may
experience Functional Fixedness.

Functional Fixedness: When an individual identifies an object or technique that could

potentially solve a problem but can think of only its most obvious function.

8.2.4 Conjunction Fallacies And Representaiveness

Conjunction Fallacy: The mistaken belief that finding a specific member in two
overlapping categories (i.e., a member of the conjunction of two categories) is more
likely than finding any member of one of the larger, general categories.

Representativeness Heuristic: Making judgments of likelihood based on how well an

example represents a specific category.
8.2.5 The Availability Heuristic
Availability Heuristic: Estimating the frequency of an event based on how easily
examples of it come to mind

8.2.6 Anchoring And Framing Effects

Anchoring Effect: When an individual attempts to solve a problem involving numbers
and uses previous knowledge to keep (i.e., anchor) the response within a limited range.

8.2.7 Belief Perseverance And Confirmation Bias

Belief Perseverance: When an individual remains committed to their decision or belief
even in the face of evidence against it.

Confirmation Bias: When an individual searches for (or pays attention to) only evidence
that will confirm his or her beliefs instead of evidence that might disconfirm.
8.3 Language And Communication
8.3.1 Early Studies Of Language
In 1861, Paul Broca had a patient who appeared to show a very specific impairment
resulting from a stroke suffered 21 years earlier.

He could understand speech and had normal mental abilities; but, he had great difficulty
producing speech and often found himself uttering single words separated by pauses
(uh, er . . .). This patient acquired the nickname “Tan” because it was one of the only
sounds that he could reliably produce. Tan had what is known as aphasia.

Aphasia: A language disorder caused by damage to the brain structures that support
using and understanding of language.

The back of the frontal lobes in the left hemisphere is known as Broca’s area. It controls
our ability to articulate speech sounds that compose words.

In 1874, a physician named Carl Wernicke published a short book detailing his study of
different types of aphasia.

Wernicke noted that some of his patients had trouble with language comprehension
rather than language production. These patients typically had damage to the back and
top part of the temporal lobe. This region came to be known as Wernicke’s area, the
area of the brain most associated with finding the meaning of words.

Damage to this area results in Wernicke’s aphasia, a language disorder in which a

person has difficulty understanding the words he or she hears. These patients are also
unable to produce speech that other people can understand - the words are spoken
fluently and with normal intonation and accent, but seem randomly thrown together.

8.3.2 Properties Of Language

Language: A form of communication that involves the use of spoken, written, or gestural
symbols that are combined in a rule-based form.

8.3.3 Phonemes And Morphemes: The Basic Ingredients Of Language

Phonemes: The most basic of units of speech sounds.

Morphemes: The smallest meaningful units of a language.

Semantics: The study of how people come to understand meaning from words.

When you read a word, you translate the word’s visual form (known as its orthography)
into the sounds that make up that word (known as its phonology or phonological code).
These sounds are combined into a word, at which point you can access its meaning or
semantics.

Children with dyslexia have difficulties translating words into speech. Their brains show
less activity in the left fusiform cortex.

8.3.4 Syntax: The Language Recipe

Syntax: The rules for combining words and morphemes into meaningful phrases and
sentences.

8.3.5 Pragmatics: The Finishing Touches

Pragmatics: The study of nonlinguistic elements of language use.
“The goalie stood on his head,” most hockey-mad Canadians understand that we are
commenting on a goaltender’s amazing game; however, someone new to hockey would
be baffled by this expression. This is another example of how experience—in this case
with a culture—influences how we use and interpret language.

8.3.6 Infants, Sound Perception, And Language Acquisition

By 10 months of age, infants learn the statistical principles of their language and the
sounds in their language.

By 20 months they learn Fast Mapping.

Fast Mapping - The ability to map words onto concepts or objects after only a single
exposure.

8.3.7 Producing Spoken Language

Children learn language through a combination of imitation and applying common rules
to new words.

Children of all cultures/languages tend to learn at the same rate.

8.3.8 Sensitive Periods For Language

Children from ages 0 - 7 have a much easier time learning new languages than adults.
This is called their sensitive period for language.
8.3.9 The Bilingual Brain
Bilingual Pros
- Better executive control
- Higher chance to have backup systems if brain damage happens

Bilingual Cons
- Smaller vocabulary in both languages
- Slower response time
- Have more “tip-of-the-tongue” experiences
- Problems accessing words

8.3.10 Genes, Evolution, and Language

Some monkey species have similar “neural hardware” to humans does lead to some
interesting speculations about language abilities in the animal kingdom.
9.1 Measuring Intelligence
9.1.1 Intelligence And Perception: Galton’s Anthropometric Approach
Galton’s Anthropometric Approach included scoring people’s intelligence by using 17
sensory tests. These tests were eventually abandoned because people’s eyesight,
hearing and intelligence were found to have no correlation.
9.1.2 Intelligence And Thinking: The Stanford-Binet Test
Alfred Binet described Intelligence as

Intelligence: The ability to think, understand, reason, and adapt to or overcome

obstacles.

He created a test to measure children’s Mental Age.

Mental Age: The average intellectual ability score for children of a specific age.

The test was adapted by Stanford University by Lewis Terman to create the Stanford-
Binet Test.

Stanford-Binet Test: A test intended to measure innate levels of intelligence.

The original test was actually meant to study a child’s current level, not their innate level
of intelligence.

The Stanford-Binet Test was then adapted again by Terman to adopt William Stern’s
concept of IQ.

IQ (Intelligence Quotient): A way to measure intelligence by taking a person’s mental

age, dividing it by their chronological age, and then multiplying by 100.

Eventually, IQ was adapted into Deviation IQ.

Deviation IQ: A way to measure intelligence by comparing the person’s test score with
the average score for people of the same age.
9.1.3 The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: The most common intelligence test in use today
for adolescents and adults.

The WAIS provides a single IQ score for each test taker - the Full-Scale IQ - but also
breaks intelligence into a General Ability Index (GAI) and a Cognitive Proficiency Index
(CPI).

9.1.4 Raven’s Progressive Matrices

Raven’s Progressive Matrices: An intelligence test that is based on pictures, not words,
thus making it relatively unaffected by language or cultural background.

9.1.5 The Race and IQ Controversy

IQ was used in the eugenics movement. Many people ended up being sterilized
because of low IQ scores. It was also used to justify racism by white people.

9.1.6 Problems With The Racial Superiority Interpretation

Stereotype Threat: Occurs when negative stereotypes about a group cause group
members to underperform on ability tests.

9.1.7 Beliefs About Intelligence

Entity Theory: The belief that intelligence is a fixed characteristic and relatively difficult
(or impossible) to change.

Incremental Theory: The belief that intelligence can be shaped by experiences, practice,
and effort.
9.2 Understanding Intelligence
9.2.1 Spearman’s General Intelligence
Spearman created the theory of a General Intelligence Factor.

General Intelligence Factor (abbreviated as “g”): g represented a person’s “mental

energy,” reflecting his belief that some people’s brains are simply more “powerful” than
others.

People with higher IQs were found to use less brain energy to complete tasks.

9.2.2 Intelligence As Multiple, Specific Abilities

In addition to a generalized intelligence, people also possess a number of specific skills.
Individual differences on these skills may explain some of the variability on intelligence
tests that is not accounted for by g.

Spearman chose “s” to represent this specific-level, skill-based intelligence. His two-
factor theory of intelligence was therefore comprised of g and s, where g represents a
person’s general, overarching intelligence and s represents a person’s skill or ability
level for a given task.

The first influential theory of multiple intelligences was created by Louis Thurstone, who
examined scores of general intelligence tests using factor analysis and found seven
clusters of what he termed primary mental abilities. The seven factors were word
fluency (the person’s ability to produce language fluently), verbal comprehension,
numeric abilities, spatial visualization, memory, perceptual speed, and reasoning.

9.2.3 Testing For Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence

Fluid Intelligence (Gf): A type of intelligence used in learning new information and
solving new problems not based on the knowledge the person already possesses.

Crystallized Intelligence (Gc): A type of intelligence that draws upon past learning and
experience.

Gf tends to decline with age whereas Gc tends to stay stable.

9.2.4 Gardner’s Theory Of Multiple Intelligences
Gardner proposed a theory of multiple intelligences after seeing how diverse people’s
abilities were.

Theory Of Multiple Intelligences: A model claiming that there are seven (now updated to
at least nine) different forms of intelligence, each independent from the others.

Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence Reading, writing, speaking

Logical/Mathematical Intelligence Thinking with numbers and abstract

thought. Using mathematical operators or
logic to solve problems

Visuospatial Intelligence Creating mental pictures and

manipulating them to solve problems

Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence Cotroling body movements, balance and

sensing how your body is situated

Musical/Rhythmical Intelligence Producing and comprehending tonal and

rhythmic patterns

Interpersonal Intelligence Detecting another person’s emotional

state, motives and thoughts

Self/Intrapersonal Intelligence Self awareness, accurately judging your

own abilities and identify your own
emotions and motives

Naturalist Intelligence Recognizing processes in the natural

world

Existential Intelligence Ability to ask questions about own

purpose and the meaning of human
existence

Garner’s theory is very hard to study as many of the intelligences are hard to quantify.

9.2.5 Battle Of The Sexes

Females and males tend to score the same on IQ. Men tend to be more likely to be at
an extreme, either very low or very high.

Females are, on average, better at verbal abilities, some memory tasks, and the ability
to read people’s basic emotions.
Males have the advantage with visuospatial abilities, such as mentally rotating objects
or aiming at objects.
9.3 Biological, Environmental, And Behavioural
Influences On Intelligence
9.3.1 The Genetics Of Intelligence: Twin And Adoption Studies
The intelligence scores of identical twins correlate with each other at about .85 when
they are raised in the same home, which is much higher than the correlation for fraternal
twins. Even when identical twins are adopted and raised apart, their intelligence
scores are still correlated at approximately .80.

9.3.2 The Heritability Of Intelligence

The heritability of intelligence is estimated to be between 40% and 80% but it’s hard to
get an exact number because scientists cannot remove the nurture element.

9.3.3 Behavioural Genomics

Behavioural Genomics: A technique that examines how specific genes interact with the
environment to influence behaviours, including those related to intelligence.

Gene Knockout (KO) Studies: Removing a specific gene and comparing the
characteristics of animals with and without that gene.

Transgenic Animals: Animals that have had genes inserted into them.

9.3.4 Brain Size And Intelligence

Larger brain size was found to have some correlation with higher intelligence but not all
types of intelligence. Visuospatial intelligence had no correlation with brain size.

9.3.5 Environmental Influences On Intelligence

Growing up in a more rich environment has been shown to develop bigger brains and
higher intelligence in rats.

9.3.6 Birth Order

First-born children were found to be more intelligent on average than the second born.
This is hypothesized to be because parents are able to give firstborn children more
attention and first-born children teach their younger siblings.
9.3.7 Socioeconomic Factor
Like the rats, children growing up in more wealthy families have access to more
resources to learn and thus tend to score higher on intelligence tests compared to
children growing up in poverty.

9.3.8 Nutrition
Poor diet (high in processed foods) in childhood has been linked to lower intelligence as
the brain does not have the needed nutrients to properly form.

9.3.9 Stress
High stress has been shown to lower intelligence by interfering with long-term memory,
giving us less patience for difficult tasks and even damaging parts of the prefrontal
cortex and hippocampus.

9.3.10 Education
Education has been shown to improve children’s IQ scores. Children who do not attend
school have significantly lower IQs.

9.3.11 The Flynn Effect: Large-Scale Trends In Average IQ

The Flynn Effect: (Named after researcher James Flynn) Refers to the steady
population level increases in intelligence test scores over time.

9.3.12 Nootropic Substances

Nootropic Substances: Substances that are believed to beneficially affect intelligence.