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

Ecocriticism: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Ecocriticism is an interdisciplinary field that examines the relationship between literature and the environment. Scholars analyze texts that illustrate environmental concerns and explore how literature treats nature.

Core Concepts

• Ecology: The biological study of interactions between organisms and their physical environment.
• Domestic vs. Wild Nature: Domestic nature is customized for human benefit, while wild nature remains untouched by human intervention.
• Biocentrism: An ethical stance that values all life forms equally, regardless of their species.
• Darwism: The theory of biological evolution through natural selection.
• Pioneer Species: Organisms that colonize new environments, shaping their ecosystems and

Chapter 7: Experiencing Positive Emotions

When it comes to flourishing as human beings, what often takes center stage is our ability to feel positive emotions.

One of the core elements of flourishing is the study of positive emotions (PERMA).

Positive Emotions: a wide range of pleasant emotions in the past, present, and future; being able to know what it is to be happy and to experience an enduring sense of well-being.

Two ways of smiling:

- Duchenne smile: a full-face smile where not only your mouth turns up, but the corners of your eyes crinkle, as well. That is, you smile with your eyes as well as your mouth.

- “the other smile”: with the mouth only and does not involve the eyes.

The extent to which the women displayed the Duchenne smile in... Continue reading "Experiencing Positive Emotions and Happiness" »

CONVENTIONS:

practices, behaviours, ideas and styles regarded as normal or taken for granted.

DISCRIMINATION:

treating someone or some group as different or less-than based upon their identity.

DOUBLE STANDARD:

a set of guidelines or principles in which one group of people is treated differently than performing the same or similar behaviour.

EXCLUSIONIST:

the position of excluding someone or some group from a fundamental right or prerogative.

FEMININITY:

socially constructed characteristics or ideas typically associated with the female sex.

FEMINISM:

a philosophy and social movement centered on improving the status and lives of women.

GENDER:

socially constructed characteristics associated with biological sex; ie., feminine, masculine.

HIERARCHICAL:

a system... Continue reading "Understanding Media Representation and Social Issues" »

Proposition:

Minimal unit of cognitive semantics; it is the equivalent of a statement, a statement being a sentence either affirmative or negative.

Utterance:

Is more a pragmatic form. It is an item of language produced by a real speaker in a real situation. Sometimes proposition and non-propositions are utterance.

Lexical meaning:

The meaning assigned to every word of the sentence.

Natural language:

A language that has developed naturally in use (as contrasted with an artificial language or computer code). The language of every human society.

Conceptualization:

Cognitive process automatically performed to make sense of the world/outer reality.

Categorization:

Basic cognitive function. Performed automatically and unconsciously as we interact with reality/... Continue reading "Cognitive Semantics and Language: Understanding the Basics" »

Instructions:

Choose the best answer for each multiple-choice question.

Questions:

1. Carl Jung believed that all humans have a common hereditary...
   1. Collective unconscious
   2. Displacement
   3. Rationalization
   4. Projection
   5. Regression
2. Three-year-old Joey is very angry with his parents but instead yells at his teddy bear. This is an example of...
   1. Collective unconscious
   2. Displacement
   3. Rationalization
   4. Projection
   5. Regression
3. A person with anorexia nervosa tells her therapist that she doesn't eat because she is worried about gaining weight, not because she wants to punish her parents. This is an example of...
   1. Collective unconscious
   2. Displacement
   3. Rationalization
   4. Projection
   5. Regression
4. Sam says that he does not trust Dorothy, but in reality, Dorothy feels that Sam is the one who cannot be

What is Psychology?

Psychology, derived from the Greek words "psyche" (soul) and "logos" (study of), is a complex field to define. It is the scientific study of mental processes, experiences, and behavior in various contexts.

Mental Processes

Mental processes involve activities like problem-solving, remembering, knowing, and learning. These are the internal mechanisms of the mind at work.

Experiences

Experiences are subjective and personal. Only the individual experiencing them can be fully aware of their nature. These experiences are embedded in our consciousness and are influenced by both internal and external factors.

Behavior

Behavior encompasses the responses, reactions, and activities we engage in. Some behaviors are overt and observable, while... Continue reading "Understanding Psychology: Mind, Behavior, and Perspectives" »

Chapter 8: Sampling Designs and Methods

A basic random sampling design is a simple random sample (SRS) of size n. It consists of n individuals from the population chosen in such a way that every set of n individuals has an equal chance to be the sample actually selected.

Voluntary Response Samples and Bias

A voluntary response sample consists of people who choose themselves by responding to a broad appeal. Voluntary response samples are biased because people with strong opinions are most likely to respond.

Stratified Random Sampling

To select a stratified random sample, first classify the population into groups of similar individuals, called strata. Then, choose a separate SRS in each stratum and combine these SRSs to form the full sample.

Undercoverage

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a manual created by the American Psychiatric Association used to diagnose mental disorders, people with ASD have:

• Difficulty with communication and interaction with other people
• Restricted interests and repetitive behaviors
• Symptoms that hurt the person’s ability to function properly in school, work, and other areas of life

Autism is known as a “spectrum” disorder because... Continue reading "Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder: Signs and Symptoms" »

The Psychology of Attraction and Relationship Formation

Why We Choose Specific Partners

The phrase "Birds of a Feather Flock Together" encapsulates a fundamental question in social psychology: Why do we choose to form relationships with certain individuals and not others?

The first stage of any relationship is attraction.

Key Factors Influencing Interpersonal Attraction

Research identifies several crucial factors that determine who we are attracted to:

• Proximity
• Familiarity
• Physical Attractiveness
• Similarity
• Complementarity

Proximity and Familiarity

Studies on proximity have consistently shown that our immediate circle of friends often consists of people who live or work very close to us. Increased exposure leads to increased familiarity, which generally... Continue reading "The Science of Attraction: Similarity, Proximity, and Partner Selection" »

YOU CAN'T. 1.Infants: incredible ‘learning Machines’ depending from their caregivers.4

2.Vygotsky: language is the main Facilitator of social interaction, if children are deprived of access to any Type of langue input prior to puberty, they will find it difficult to fully Develop grammatically abilities later on.

3.Lennerg, 1967: supported this with Cases studies of wild or feral children (Genie): abused and neglected by her Parents, she couldn’t speak at all at first, and afer intensive speech therapy, She was never able to communicate in grammatically correct, complex sentences (Buddenhagen, 1971).

4.Tomasello (2000), challenged this And current thinking suggests that language, like any skill, can be acquired at Any time providing that... Continue reading "I is correct ii is correct" »