Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Psychology and Sociology

Retrospective Epidemiological Studies

Case-Control Studies

Retrospective = effect → cause. Case-control studies identify two existing groups that differ in outcome and compare them based on a supposed causal attribute.

• They work by comparing subjects who have the condition/disease (the cases) with patients who do not have the condition/disease but are otherwise similar (the controls).
• Advantages: relatively inexpensive; can be carried out by small teams or individual researchers; shorter in duration.
• Disadvantage: difficulty obtaining reliable information about an individual’s exposure status over time.
• Example of a successful study: demonstration of the link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer.

Characteristics

• Outcome has already occurred;

Language Learning Strategies

2 main groups:

• Direct strategies: Involve use of language (memory, cognitive, compensation)
• Indirect strategies: not directly involve use of language, but support language learning (social, metacognitive, affective)

Memory Strategy

Semantic mapping: connect concepts with key words. Enclose related words in the same field.

Cognitive Strategy

Reasoning deductively, when understanding only a few words of the sentence.

Compensation Strategies

Example: use mime or gestures to describe something without words.

England

Compensation, mime/social strategy, clarify/take risks wisely.

Autonomous Learning

Describes a process in which individuals take the initiative. Diagnose your own learning needs, formulate learning goals, choose and... Continue reading "Effective Language Learning Strategies and Gamification" »

SMART Objectives in Education

What is a SMART Objective?

A SMART objective is a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goal set for student learning. Each element is crucial for creating effective learning experiences:

Specific

The objective has to be precise enough to show the learning outcome you want to get with your students.

Measurable

How will you know that your students have achieved the goal? What kind of indicators will I see, hear, or feel by the end of the lesson?

Achievable

The objective can be reached by students taking into consideration time, previous knowledge, and other constraints of the group.

Relevant

The objective has to be meaningful for students and it has to meet, if possible, students’ interests.

Time-Bound

Will... Continue reading "SMART Objectives in Education: A Comprehensive Guide" »

What is Psychology?

Etymology of Psychology

Greek: psyche (soul, spirit)

Greek: logos (study)

Definition of Psychology

Science that studies the behavior of individuals and their mental processes, including internal influences that occur within individuals and in their physical and social environment.

Importance of Psychology

It is important to understand the psychological aspects of oneself and others to adapt more appropriately to the environment, especially during college life and adulthood.

What are Psychological Processes?

Aspects of the psyche that enable people to perform various psychological actions and cognitive functions in daily life.

Perception

The mode in which the body and mind work so that we are aware and realize what is happening in our... Continue reading "Understanding Psychology: Core Concepts" »

Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986)

Social Cognitive Theory is an interpersonal theory that covers determinants of behavior and processes of behavior change. It posits that behavior, cognitive, personal, and environmental factors interact.

Key Concepts:

• Reciprocal Determinism: Behavior is influenced by and influences personal factors and the environment.
• Personal Factors:
  • Outcome Expectancies: Anticipated effects of a behavior (physical, social, self-evaluative).
  • Self-Efficacy: Belief in one's ability in specific situations (magnitude, strength, generality).
• Environmental Factors: Social and physical conditions.

Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991)

This theory suggests that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influence... Continue reading "Psychological Theories of Health Behavior Change" »

Freud's Economic Theory of Psychoanalysis

Freud's economic theory of psychoanalysis posits that psychic energy increases, decreases, moves, or is released and distributed throughout the human psyche, activating its different processes.

Freud's Drive Theory of Psychoanalysis

Freud used the term "drive" to refer to instinctual impulses. These drives are characterized by:

• Source: A bodily organ that produces a drive through an active process. Different sources give rise to different impulses. (Unintegrated impulses manifest in adult subjects as perversions).
• Drive Peremptory: An energetic and motor factor of variable intensity that pushes the body toward satisfaction, which the subject cannot avoid. Its character is psychological rather than biological.

Cognitive Perceptual Learning: This concept gives us insight into how behavior is influenced by various stimuli. It is not as simple as it seems; the answers and the schemes explained previously reveal much about our behavior, but not all of it. (If we are rewarded, these actions are repeated, while if we are punished, these actions are reduced, as Edward Tolman suggests.) He states that there is more to stimulus and response because each person reacts to a pattern of stimuli. We have very predictable behavior in response to certain stimuli, but we can also respond unpredictably. Between stimuli and responses, there are some variables called O, which we process through organismic variables. This variable depends on the knowledge and motivation... Continue reading "Understanding Cognitive Perceptual Learning and Its Models" »

Workplace Motivation Techniques

The motivation at work is the main focus of the humanistic approach to business management and organization, since it is a force that decisively influences behavior, both when conceived alone and within working groups.

Key Incentives to Boost Work Motivation

These are some of the incentives that are used to raise work motivation:

Financial Compensation (Money)

Money serves to meet purchasing needs and status requirements. In sociology, status refers to the position of a person within a social group, providing a reference point.

Job Enrichment and Redesign

Job enrichment involves redesigning the workplace to make roles more profound. This considers characteristics like responsibility, challenge, and achievement, meeting... Continue reading "Essential Techniques for Boosting Employee Motivation and Engagement" »

Human Sexuality

Core Value Systems

• Absolutism: A belief system based on unconditional allegiance to the authority of science, law, tradition, or religion.
• Relativism: A value system emphasizing that sexual decisions should be made in the context of a particular situation.
• Hedonism: The belief that pleasure is the ultimate value and motivation for human behavior.

Sexual Values and Practices

Sexual values are moral guidelines for making sexual choices in non-marital, marital, heterosexual, and homosexual relationships.

• Masturbation: Self-pleasuring, solo sex, or autoeroticism. (Note: The myth that masturbation causes blindness is false.)
• Oral Sex:
  • Fellatio: Oral stimulation of a man's genitals by his partner.
  • Cunnilingus: Oral stimulation of a woman's

Understanding Affectivity in Child Development

Affectivity in a child's development exhibits several key characteristics:

1. Children are Easily Affected by Events

   Children transition rapidly between emotions, such as laughter and tears. This is due to biological factors, as their nervous system is still developing, and psychological factors, such as selfishness and subjectivism, which hinder their ability to understand different perspectives. Additionally, their intelligence is less developed than an adult's, making it harder to judge situations, and they are constantly encountering new experiences.

2. Moods are Expressed More Intensely

   Children struggle to control their emotions due to a lack of cortical control, reason, and willpower.

3. Pleasure and Pain