Final Exam Review Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology

Definition

Psychology: studies the mental processes & the behavior of individuals

Sociology: studies human relationships, their causes & consequences, & the social structures
that people build around them (group)
Anthropology study of the origin, behavior, physical, social & cultural development of
humans (human difference between animals) [Physical, cultural (ethnography, archeology)
anthropologists]

ANTHROPOLOGY:
Evolution

Darwins theory: Environmental conditions change over time. As a result, species change
through continuous modification. All species are engaged in a struggle for survival.
Natural selection/Survival of the fittest: The species best adapted to changing environment
will have better access to scarce resources allowing better reproducing capabilities.
(Bipedalism (See Further), eyes in front instead of side (depth perception), Sweat Glands
(cool body)
Bipedalism: As the landscape changed, carrying food as a bipedal was easier

Ape to man
Neanderthal: Large brain, short & powerful, strong smell, stone tech, family groups
Homo Erectus (Java Man): fire, tall & learn, sweat glands, family, art, 2/3 size of our brain
Taung Child: Africa as ancestral home
Homo Habilis: Start of stone tech, Questioned scientist if modern humans had more than
one ancestor
Lucy: bipedal, small brain, ape-like
Culture (definition, how it's imparted to its members)

The abilities, ideas, & behaviors people have acquired to become members of the society.
Symbols: something that represents something else (flag)
Values: standards of what is considered right & morally acceptable
Norms: rules that indicate what people should do or how they should act
Change: changes in the natural environment, new discovery & inventions, interaction
between cultures

Rites of passage
3 stage process
1. You are changed from what you were to something new (Girl to women)

2. You removed yourself from society temporarily (central event) (Stay in hut until circumcision
is healed)
3. You are re-admitted to society as a new person (faithful wife without sexual urges)
Rites
Individuals: relieve stress & understand growth
Communities: continuation, stable & unified/Entertainment
Culture: pass on traditions & religious or moral values
Initiations:
Social & internal transformation
Make sure new group members are reliable members
Endure pain & humiliation to show that they wont dessert the group in similar situations &
value belonging
Delicacies:
Rare or luxurious meal
Culture differentiates themselves with what they eat
Bodily relive in past connection with of our ancestors
You are what you eat

Language & culture

Language
Brocas area: involves speech
Open: changes over time to evolve with new concepts & culture (LOL)
Discrete: doesnt blend with other messages (Different words)
Slang: abbreviated (shortened) speech, precise reference, group solidarity
Androcentric: sexist language
Extinction:
o brain lose linguistic inventiveness (how people perceive & understand the world
connected to ones environment [English vs other languages in hue of colors)
o spoken & written history is lost (culture)
o Reason: Communicate swift & straightforward because of globalization due to
industrialization and scientific progress
PSYCHOLOGY:
Freud's theory, defense mechanisms
Freuds theory
Sex is root of neurotic sicknesses
Unconscious mind is revealed in dreams
Freudian slip: something on our unconscious mind said (Free association: without censor)

Models of mind
o ID:
unconscious mind
biological urges reside (sexual, emotional, protective)
evident in new born
demands immediate gratification, ruled by pleasure principle regardless
circumstances
immoral
(Steal RM100)
o Superego:
Unconscious & conscious
Conscience: forces ego to be morally acceptable (right & wrong)
Ego ideal: aims to reach goals instilled by society
guilt & self-reproach to enforce rules
acceptable things done rewards with pride & self-satisfaction if
Morality
(I shouldnt steal as I can get caught)
o Ego:
Unconscious & conscious
Balances needs of id & reality by suppressing ids urges
Ruled by reality principle
Enables individual to be a self
Amoral
(return it as jail time is not worth it)
Defense mechanisms: to calm anxiety (ego realizes ID will harm oneself or
superego is making impossible demand)
Repression: defense mechanism in its own right & the aim of all
other defense mechanism (woman continues to have children even
though childbirth is painful)
Denial: refuse to acknowledge a threat
Regression: involves a return to behaviors characteristics of earlier
stage in life
Reaction formation: anxiety-producing impulse or feeling its
replaced by its direct opposite (porn is disgusting from a man who
loves porn)
Projection: ones own objectionable impulses to others (accuses
wife of being unfaithful when he is the one)
Displacement: transfer of unacceptable feelings form their
appropriate target to a much safer one (Scolded by boss, vents on
wife/children)
Sublimation: Forbidden impulses are redirected towards socially
desirable goals (Painting of mothers shows long reunion from
separated of mother at an early age)

Rationalization: occurs when one attempts to explain failure or

shortcoming in non-threatening ways (rejected by uni, proceeds to
calls the uni overrated)

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning

Classical conditioning

Unconditioned stimulus: ball thrown to bill/puff of air with pencil tapping

Unconditioned response: failed catch hit his face & he closed his eyes/blinking
Conditioned stimulus: close his eyes when ball is near/tapping pencil without blowing puff
Conditioned response: closes his eyes/blinking

Operant conditioning

Reinforcement used: behavior that value a stimulus (negative/positive)

Reward or punishment: reward
Direct or indirect: direct to sally (reward or punishment) & indirect
Outcome:

Erik Erikson's psychosocial development theory (identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation)

Human development is influenced by environment

Identity vs. role confusion: adolescence become aware of their uniqueness but may not be
able to identify what future role is appropriate
Intimacy vs. isolation: Early adulthood are seeking relationship but also fear rejection

Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development

Analyses quantity & quality of information acquired at each level

The sensorimotor stage:
o Age 0-2
o no understanding of objects or people outside immediate environment
o developing motor skills & awareness that people or objects exist even if they
disappear from the immediate environment
o (Peak-a-boo)
The preoperational stage:
o Age 2-7
o experience develop language & view the world from own perspective
The concrete operational stage:
o Age 7-12
o develop logical thinking & conceptualize ideas & principles such as realizing that an
action can be reversed by other action
o (rewards & punishment can develop good habits)

The Formal Operational stage:

o Age 12 to adulthood
o Perceive the world differently than previous stage due to of increased ability to
examine issues from multiple perspectives using problem solving skills

Nature and nurture

Anthropology:
o Behavioral adjustments: cultural responses to environment stresses such as climate
& changing environments such as food sources
o Acclimation adjustments: reversible physiological changes to environmental stress,
or the ability to adapt to severe environmental situations such as dressing properly
in cold climates
Blank state: John Locke believes in 100% nurture
Different from animals:
o developed sense of morality
o understanding of good & bad/right & wrong/meaning to suffer not only our own
pain but the pain of others
o Brain: equipped with moral grammar (frontal cortex)
Parenting
o Authoritian: strict & demand rigid obedience from their children
o Permissive: provide lax or inconsistent direction for their children & demand little
from them
o Authoritative: firm but set realistic limits for their children

Cognitive psychology/the brain

Cognitive psychology: examines on how the brain learns with consideration for ones mental
state on human perception, thought & memory
Teen brain:
o grey matter tissue processes information
o white matter connects areas of grey matter for communication
o Frontal lobe controls social activity develops significantly
o Brain stops developing at mid-20s
STM + WM
o Automation, attention & perception is guided by prior knowledge
o STM: information is processed for meaning limited to capacity & duration
o Working memory: contains the current contents of consciousness (rehearsal &
repetition)
o LTM: memory over long period of time stored permanently
1. Stored when life threatening or prioritized for important curtail purposes
2. Declarative knowledge (what) & procedural knowledge (how)
3. Encoding information:
Mediation: remember items to something meaningful
Imagery: use image to remember things

Mnemonics: pairs to be learned info with well learned info to make

it more memorable
4. Retrieval:
Encoding specificity: enhanced when conditions at retrieval is
matched with encoding
Generation effect: create part of the material to be committed to
memory to be more retrievable. This is because of using prior
knowledge when creation
State-dependent learning: information is more easily retrievable
when psychological/emotional states are similar at encoding &
retrieval
Psychometric testing: categorizes peoples personality & interests, aptitudes &
abilities & serves as an educational measurement

SOCIOLOGY:
Structural functionalism & conflict theory
Structural functionalism
function to meet social needs by providing stability & benefit to society
Institutions: Law, political system, family
Change can occurs if structures maintain societys equilibrium but can only happen slowly
macro approach that assumes the organization of society is based on a consensus about
functionalism
(Womens movement)
Conflict theory
Criticizes society
power rather than function interdependence holds society together
Exists between groups due to inequalities in power
Society is divided into groups accordingly to power & to encourage competition to meet
needs
Competition: needs arent met equally, exploitation by individuals in group with greater
powers over others
Karl Max describe the class divisions within capitalist society in the 19th century with conflict
theory
Values, norms, roles

Values: standards of what is considered right and morally acceptable

Norms: rules that indicate what people should do or how they should act
Roles: gender roles, etc.

Social institutions: definition; family, economic, political, educational, religious

Organized way a society develops to meet its basic needs

o Family: replace societys members, protect & socialize the next generation
o Economic institutions: meet society members physical needs
o Political institutions: Assist society in group decision making, Empower individuals,
Require that all members agree to the decisions made
o Educational institutions: passes on culture, knowledge & values to the next
generation
o Religious institutions: find purpose in their lives, aids the spiritual side of society,
guidelines for personal behavior & social interaction

Agents of socialization: (primary) family; (secondary) schools, peers, religion, media, work

Socialization is the process of learning the values and norms appropriate for a particular
community or social group
Anticipatory: behavior that will be expected in a future social context (Avoid
procrastination)
Re-socialization: transform old, sometimes unacceptable behavior into new, social
acceptable behavior (stop smoking indoors)
Primary: teaching the individual the basic skills to survive in society
o Family: Identity, Importance of self-love & family love
Secondary: teaching individuals how to act appropriately in group situations
o Education: Reinforce gender roles, Respect authority and value of hard work,
Interact and co-operate with others, Assume their share of work, Demonstrate
initiative and comprehension
o Peers: Similar experiences, Learn to express culture in a non-violent way
o Workplace: tolerate others, teamwork, responsibility, obeying rules & ethics
o Media: Norms and values of the current culture, innovative thinking
o Religion: Guide for this life & earned rewards for the next, Respect for authority,
Care of the underprivileged, Living a life free of harmful temptations

Groups & group behavior; conformity

Groups influence behavior:
Social roles, group norms & sanctions shape behavior
Roles: Roles are not fixed (daughter, father, friend, student)
Norms: guidelines for behavior for our different life roles
o MORES: highly regarded moral views on behavior which are rarely broken
o FOLKWAYS: everyday habits like manners, interactions, or personal appearance
(washing hands before eat, current fashion, say hello on phone)
Sanctions: a formal or informal penalty or reward given to ensure conformity to norms
(Praise/cristism [People laughing at you])
Conformity:
yielding to group pressures

Factors affecting conformity

o Group attractiveness: the more attractive the group, the more likely the members
will to conform. The lower the social position of the individual member in the group,
the more that person can be influenced to conform to the group (new kid in school
trying to fit in)
o Group unanimity: groups that are unanimous or in total agreement can exert great
pressure to conform. When even one person has a dissenting view in a group, the
pressure to conform to the groups view is reduced considerably (group projects,
debate)
o Public vs Private response: when group members have to express their views in
front of others, they are more likely to conform than if they could do so in private,
such as by filling out an opinion survey (Interviews vs surveys)
o Nature of the task: tasks or questions that are vague or have no clear answer are
easier to have people conform to. When they are clearer, factual, or on a topic you
feel competent about relative to the group, you are less likely to conform
(education, career)
Groupthink: a desire to reach a consensus or agreement that is so strong that group
members lose their ability to critically examine other alternatives (elevator experiment)

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Stereotypes: widely held fixed & oversimplified image of an individual or group (teenagers
do not think before decision)
Prejudice: a judgment based on irrelevant considerations or lack of knowledge, either
favorable or unfavorable (Change is bad and women will are happiest doing traditional roles)
Scapegoating: one that bears the blame for others (CEO for failure)
Authoritarian & prejudice: British though they were superior to others and tried to civilize
everybody which is wrong and prejudice.
Racism: prejudice or discrimination against a person or group because of a difference of race
or cultural or ethnic background
Discrimination: creating the rule that young people arent allowed to participate in decision
making (blacks are disallowed)
Self-fulfilling prophecy: behavior in accordance with a widely held belief caused by believing
the belief to be true