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

Festinger's Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Relations between beliefs are determined more by the expectations of the person than by their objective or logical relationships. Re-establishing consistency between attitudes or beliefs is generated automatically, and its achievement is gratifying.

Factors Determining Dissonance Magnitude

The magnitude of the dissonance caused by inconsistencies depends on two factors:

• The importance the elements have for the subject.
• The number of dissonant elements and the similarity between them.

Strategies to Reduce Dissonance

There are several strategies one can employ to reduce dissonance:

1. Edit: Modify one of the elements so that the relationship between beliefs becomes consistent.
2. Place: Introduce new cognitions in

Classical Conditioning

In classical conditioning, an experiment involves strengthening a response through association. For instance, if a bell (conditioned stimulus) is presented without food (unconditioned stimulus), it will not lead to a lever press for food, as that is characteristic of operant conditioning. In classical conditioning, inconsistent pairing can severely impair learning and interfere with the association.

Key Terms in Classical Conditioning:

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Any stimulus that naturally evokes a regular and measurable physiological response for a sufficiently long period.
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A stimulus originally neutral, meaning it did not produce a regular and measurable response before the experimental session.

Understanding Baby's Sensory Motor Intelligence

Exploring the World Through Senses

Babies primarily use their senses and motor skills to explore and manipulate their environment. This period of cognitive development, from birth to two years old, is called "sensory motor intelligence" by Piaget. A key aspect of this stage is the child's desire to touch and interact with everything around them.

Developing Senses: Touch, Hearing, and Sight

Touch

During the first year, touch is especially developed. From the earliest days, babies manipulate objects by putting them in their mouths, exploring textures with their sensitive tongues, gums, cheeks, and lips. By six months, they can distinguish objects based on temperature, size, hardness, and texture. A... Continue reading "Sensory Motor Intelligence in Babies: Exploring the World Through Senses" »

Meaningful Learning

Occurs when new information connects to a relevant pre-existing cognitive structure. This implies that new ideas, concepts, and propositions can be learned significantly as other relevant ideas, concepts, or proposals are adequately clear and available in an individual's cognitive structure and function as an anchor point to the former.

Mechanical Learning

Occurs when there are inadequate pre-existing cognitive structures, so the new information is stored arbitrarily, without interacting with pre-existing knowledge.

Learning by Discovery

Involves students sorting information, integrating it with their cognitive structure, and reorganizing or transforming the integrated combination to produce the desired learning.

Reception Learning

The... Continue reading "Learning Theories: Meaningful, Mechanical, and Eclectic Approaches" »

Child Sexual Abuse: Identifying High-Risk Factors

Understanding the factors that increase a child's vulnerability to sexual abuse is crucial for prevention and intervention. Several key areas contribute to a child being at high risk:

Gender-Based Risk

Traditionally, the female sex has been considered at higher risk. Various studies consistently indicate a significantly higher incidence of sexual abuse among girls, often cited as 2-3 girls for every boy, especially in cases of intrafamilial sexual abuse. This disparity is primarily attributed to the fact that most abusers are heterosexual males.

Age-Related Vulnerability

The ages of greatest risk are typically between 6-7 years and 10-12 years. Research suggests that more than twice as many cases... Continue reading "Child Sexual Abuse: Risk Factors and Offender Motivations" »

Types of Reinforcement

Bandura identifies three forms of reinforcement that promote learning by observation:

1. Direct Reinforcement: Reinforcing the observer directly when they reproduce the model's behavior.

2. Indirect or Vicarious Reinforcement: Reinforcing the model. Observing the consequences of others' behavior can modify behavior similarly to direct experience. Vicarious reinforcement:

• a) Informs observers about appropriate behavior based on success and failure patterns.
• b) Enhances practical learning through direct experience, as multiple observers can be exposed to the modeled behavior simultaneously.
• c) Reduces attention demands compared to direct experience.

3. Self-Reinforcement: Controlling one's own reinforcements without expecting... Continue reading "Observational Learning: Reinforcement and Classroom Application" »

Sensory Thresholds and Psychophysics

Sensory thresholds. Psychophysics studies the relationship between the physical nature of a stimulus and the sensory responses that occur in a person. Our ability to detect stimuli relies on different sensory thresholds:

• Absolute threshold: the minimum amount of stimulus we need to be aware of something and also the maximum amount of stimulation we can tolerate.
• Differential threshold: the difference in stimulus intensity needed to notice an increase or decrease prior to the stimulus.

Cognitive theory. Cognitive psychology researches how people process information and how these processes are represented in the world, and how these representations determine behavior. The terms feeling and perception are related... Continue reading "Sensory Thresholds, Perception and Optical Illusions" »

Observation: Concepts and Features

Observation is an inherent part of human nature, integrated into our psychology in relation to everyday events. It involves the perception of a phenomenon that is selected and recorded without manipulation, making the observer a passive witness of what has occurred.

Observation can vary in its degree of systematization, ranging from casual observation to those that adhere to strict methodological criteria.

Observation becomes a scientific technique when it meets the following criteria:

• It is part of an objective investigation.
• It is stated and recorded systematically.
• It is subject to checks and controls regarding validity and reliability.

Types of Observation

Self-Observation

Self-observation occurs when the observer... Continue reading "Understanding Observation: Types and Techniques" »

What are the Functions of Assessment?

The role of assessment includes formative assessment, diagnostic evaluation, forecast evaluation, and function-oriented evaluation.

What is Diagnostic Assessment?

Diagnostic assessment is performed prior to the development of the educational process. To perform a diagnostic evaluation, different procedures can be used, such as written questions, oral exchanges with the group on the topic of interest, and observing the student in their work related to the themes.

What is Formative Assessment?

This assessment is the most important in the educational process because it provides the student with feedback (and of course, feedback to the teacher) regarding their performance. It indicates what has been achieved, what... Continue reading "Understanding Educational Assessment: Types, Functions, and Tools" »

Aesthetic Experience, Aisthesis, and Hermeneusis

The set of aesthetic experiences includes *judgments* (or *judicative acts*) and moments of catharsis. *Aisthesis* (sensory perception) includes, in turn, a *hermeneusis*—that is, a dimension of assessment and interpretation. This evaluative-judgmental activity is assigned to taste, corresponding with the rehabilitation of the lower faculties: sensation and feeling.

Axiological Intuition and the Perceptual-Evaluative Act

Axiological intuition, which accompanies sensible intuition and perception, forms a unified experiential, perceptual-evaluative act. Perception (sensible intuition) gives us the object (nature), which is a correlate of the act, always incomplete and open. The thing appears *foreshortened*... Continue reading "The Phenomenology of Aesthetic Judgment and Universal Taste" »