Lecture 1 (12/22/14)

I. Sensing the environment- a stimulus is detected, biological, psychological

and sociological factors relay this information to the brain where it is
interpreted
a. Sensory pathways- relay information from the outside world in a way
the brain can understand using specialized cells and receptors
b. Thresholds- magnitude or intensity that must be exceed to produce an
effect
i. Absolute threshold- the lowest level at which the stimulus can be
detected
Ex: hearing a sound 20 feet away
ii. Recognition threshold- the lowest level at which the stimulus is
recognized Ex: hearing a watch ticking 20 feet away
iii. Differential threshold- lowest level in which increase in stimulus is
detected Ex: noticing that the watch has become louder
1. Webbers Law- Noticeable difference is proportional to the
magnitude of the stimuli. Ex: Can notice a difference between 1
feather and 2 feathers but not placing a feather on top of a
bowling ball
iv. Terminal threshold- level beyond which a stimulus is no longer
detected
Ex: sound wave frequency is too high to hear
c. Signal Detection Theory- how we receive information in time of
uncertainty Ex- hearing someone in a noisy room, finding a small tumor
on an X-ray
d. Sensory adaption- how our brains adapt to constant stimulus Ex. Rods
becoming more active at night to see object shapes instead of colors
e. Visual processing- complex processes carried out by visual system
i. Parallel processing- carrying out multiple operations/tasks at once Ex.
Vision can see object color, shape, distance
ii. Feature Detection- neurons in the visual cortex receive certain types
of visual information Ex. Cats can see edges more than humans
II. Processing the information
a.Top-down processing- finding subtle details from a broad representation
Ex. Realizing that a visual illusion is not the reality after finding a error
in it
b. Bottom-up processing- using subtle details to create a broad
representation Ex. Using skin color, height and weight to determine who
it is from a distance
c. Gestault principles- our brains like patterns and will organize things as
such
i. Similarity- similar objects near each other will look like a larger object
ii. Continuation- the eye is compelled to move through one object and
into next
iii. Closure- brain completes nearly complete representations of a shape
d. Attention- selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
a.
b.
c.
g.

i. Selective Attention- processing certain stimuli when others are

present
ii. Divided Attention- processing multiple stimuli at once
e. Information Processing Theory- explains human cognition and how we
process information similar to a computer
i. Thinking- perceiving external stimuli and encoding the data
ii. Analysis of stimuli- encoded data interpreted by the brain
iii. Situation modification- stored memories used to influence decisions
iv. Obstacle evaluation- Nature of the problem is considered Ex.
Fight/flight
f. Consciousness- awareness of surroundings, oneself,
experiencing/feeling
i. Sleep- reduced state of consciousness, sensory activity & voluntary
muscles
1. Circadian Rhythms- any biological process based on a 24 hr clock
included sleep wake pattern, core body temperature (lowest at
5am) and cortisol release (stress hormone)
a. REM (rapid eye movement)- brain waves similar to waking state,
muscles paralyzed, hard to arouse, dreams occur
b. NREM (non-rapid eye movement)- 3 stages including N1,N2,N3
where no dreams occur and muscles are not paralyzed
2. Sleep disorders
a. Primary insomnia- chronic difficulty falling asleep
b. Narcolepsy- unwillingly falling asleep spontaneously
c. Night terror- awakening from sleep in immense terror of
unknown cause because the dream occurred in NREM sleep
d. Nocturia- need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night
e. Noctambulism- sleepwalking
ii. Other altered states of consciousness
1. Use of drugs- highly addictive because they cause increase in
dopamine via brains reward center that must be met in
subsequent uses. (primary reward- necessary for survival;
secondary- value derived from primary)
Nicotine- relaxation, calmness, alertness, reduced appetite
Alcohol- decreased motor control, impaired judgment/coordination
Marijuana- calm, euphoria, hungry, art appreciation
Heroin- dilated pupils, agitation, euphoria
PCP- restlessness, impulsivity, analgesia, sense of invulnerability
Ecstasy- energy, time/space perversion, suppression of basic needs
LSD- hallucinogenic, euphoria, rapidly shifting emotions
2. Trance- state of consciousness other than normal
Hypnosis- superficially resembling that of sleep
Mediation- training mind to induce mode of consciousness
Prayer- activate rapport with a deity
Memory- process by which information is encoded, stored and retrieved
i. Encoding- receiving and processing the information

h.

ii. Storage- creating a permanent record in the brain centers

iii. Retrieval- recalling stored information
1. Types of retrieval
a. Recall- accessing information without any cues (just know it)
b. Recognition- identifying the information after experiencing it
again (ex. Multiple choice test)
c. Relearning- relearning information that has been previously
learned
2. Cues can be external from the surrounding environment or internal
from within ones cognition
3. Aiding retrieval
a. Serial recall- remembering things in the order they occurred
help you recite them again later (ex. remembering order of this
study guide)
b. Primacy and recency- remembering things at start and end of
list
iv. Short term memory- holding multiple pieces of transitory information
where it can be manipulated in 20-30 seconds (ex. Magic number 7)
v. Long term memory- retention of knowledge over long periods of time
1. Procedural memories- how to perform tasks
2. Declarative memories- memories that are consciously recalled
a. Semantic memories- memory of facts
b. Episodic memories- memory of events
vi. Memory dysfunctions
1. Dementia- loss of global cognitive ability usually due to aging
2. Alzheimers- common cause of dementia believed to be a result of
amyloid protein deposits in the brain
3. Korsakoff syndrome- amnesia, invented memories, apathy caused
by thiamine deficiency and common in alcoholics
4. Memory decay- belief that memory fades due to passage of time;
more relevant to short term memory; rehearsal keeps in tact
5. Interference- interaction between new material and old (ex.
Professor cant memorize student names b/c hes already
memorized so many)
6. Source monitoring error- mind constructs memory by assembling
all sources and can have difficulty separating them (ex. Crime
witness believes they saw a crime but only read about it)
vii. Neuroplasticity- changes in neural pathways/synapses due to
changes in behavior, environment or bodily injury
1. Long term potentiation- synapses changing strength (increased
vesicles and receptors) causing a larger response
Language- capacity of acquiring complex system of communication
i. Language development
1. Nativism- characteristics are hard wired at birth, language is not
learned. No human society has not used language, children just
pick it up naturally

2. Empiricism- language is a learned behavior acquired during early

years
3. Interactionism- language develops from interaction of biological,
cognitive and environmental influences (a more broad definition)
ii. Language inferences- cognitive inference made from words
1. Casual inference- one event caused another (ex. the aspirin made
him better)
2. Anaphoric inference- connects objects/persons from one to
another sentence (ex. John took the aspirin. He is better. He is
referring to john)
3. Instrumental inference- inference about the tools/methods used
(ex. John took the aspirin. He must have swallowed it not snorted)
4. Predictive/forward inference- inference about the outcome of an
event (ex. John took an aspirin. He will soon get better)
iii. There are 2 speech areas in the brain: Wernickes area is responsible
for understanding written/spoken language and Brocas area that
produces it
III. Cognition- mental processes that includes attention, memory, language and
decision making in the cerebral cortex
a. Cerebral cortex- outer region of the brain involved in higher thinking
i. Frontal Lobe- decision making, problem solving (includes Brocas)
ii. Parietal Lobe- reception/processing of sensory information
iii. Temporal Lobe- memory, emotion, hearing and language (includes
Wernickes)
iv. Hypothalamus- relays information from senses to cortex
v. Hippocampus- short term memory
vi. Amygdala- emotions and social behaviors
b. Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development
i. Sensorimotor- Age 0-2: simple reflexes, egocentric, experience world
through 5 senses
ii. Preoperational- Age 2-7: egocentric, lack of logical thinking and
presence of magical thinking (making causal relationships where
there is none)
iii. Concrete Operational- Age 7-12: can see multiple points of view and
logical
iv. Formal Operational Age 12+: abstract reasoning/problem solving
c. Cultural Influences- Cultures widely vary in the way they facilitate
childrens cognitive development by their education system, family
structure ect Ex. Study in 2008 showed that East Asians were more
exposed to relative tasks and Americans more exposed to absolute
tasks
d. Humans are unique in that they employ complex logic to problem
solving using several methods including: analogy, divide and conquer,
trial and error ect
i. Heuristics- rules that propose to explain how people make decisions,
come to judgments and solve problems when facing complex ones.

1.
2.

1. Availability Heuristic- Making judgements about event probabilities

bases on how easier examples come to mind Ex. Reads about
several lottery winners and believes he is more likely to win it
2. Escalation of commitment- increased investment in a decision
based on cumulative prior investment Ex. Might as well buy a 5th
lottery ticket to get some payout
3. Representative Heuristic- Making judgments about something
based on its similarity to a prototypical example of that category;
stereotyping
ii. Biases- Making decisions bases on cognitive factors rather than
evidence
1. Belief perseverance- Unwillingness to admit that foundational
premises are incorrect even when shown convincing evident to the
contrary
e. Intuition- ability to understand something readily without conscious
reasoning
f. Intelligence- polygenic (multiple genes);75% genetic and 25%
environmental
i. Mental retardation- 2 standard deviations below mean IQ of 100 with
2/3 of cases having no known biological cause
Trisomy 21(down syndrome)- known genetic cause
Autism: cause unknown, only 75% will actually be retarded
IV. Responding to the world
a. Emotion- spontaneous mental state based on ones circumstances that
follows a physiological change that is universal among cultures (ex.
everybody smiles) and adaptive to give evolutionary benefit (ex.
lust/love to find a mate)
i. There are three components to emotion including a physiological
arousal, an expressive behavior and experienced thoughts/feelings
1. James Lange Theory- An emotional stimulus (snake) causes ANS
arousal/behavior change and emotion then follows this
2. Cannan-Bard Theory- Emotional stimulus causes limbic system to
arouse the ANS, create behavior and emotion simultaneously.
Physiological response and emotional feeling are separate:
expression from hypothalamus, feeling from thalamus.
3. Schachter-singer theory- Emotional stimulus causes arousal, the
organism then searches for the cause of this arousal and then
exhibits the appropriate emotional feeling (ex. Heart races in
presence of snake=fear, heart races in presence of crush=love)
b. Limbic system- collection of brain structures responsible for emotion,
behavior, motivation, long-term memory and olfaction (smell)
i. Hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex
ii. Autonomic nervous system includes sympathetic nervous system that
arouses the body (fight/flight) through release of epinephrine causing
blood diversion from organs to the muscles

i.

i.
ii.
iii.

c. Stress- persons response to a stressor that typically results in

sympathetic response and can result in physiological phenomena
caused by crises/catastrophes, major life events, daily
hassles/microstressors or ambient stressors (noise, pollution ect)
Appraisal of stress
1. Stage 1: primary appraisal- evaluation of the situation to gauge
relevance for survival (benign, benign positive or stressful)
2. Stage 2: secondary appraisal- evaluate self ability to cope with
stressor (if you find you cannot cope this is when you feel a level of
stress)

Lecture 2 (12/23/14)
I. Biological basis of behavior- Psychology is very much related to
physiological and biological processes in the body
a. Neurotransmitter imbalance has effect on psychological functioning
(nervous) (mood/cognitive function)
Norepinephrine- alertness, concentration, energy
Serotonin- obsessions, compulsions, memory
Dopamine- pleasure, reward, motivation/drive

b. Hormone release has effect on psychological functioning (endocrine)

i. Sexual desireovulation cycles; synthetic
testosteroneanger/depression; ACTHmemory extension;
leptineating behaviors
c. Nature vs Nurture- it is believed that a combination of multiple genes
(polygenic) and several environmental factors influence human
development and thus personality behavior
d. Observational learning- mirror neurons fire both when you perform the
action and when you see others performing it
II. Temperament activity level, mood, responsiveness, attention span
a. Inhibited temperament- shy, timid, discomfort in novel situations
b. Uninhibited temperament- talkative, spontaneous, comfortable in
novel situations
Ex. Socially inhibited 5 year olds have increased sympathetic activity
III.
Attitude- favor/disfavor to people, places, things or events
a. Components
i. Affective/emotional- how it makes you feel
ii. Cognitive- your thoughts/beliefs about it
iii. Behavioral- your actions toward it
b. Attitude and behaviors are components that rely on the other
i. Attitude affects behavior (ex. you value money but your
partner does not, solutions: leave your partner or change
you attitude)
ii. Behavior affects attitude
1. Foot-in-the-door phenomenon- you are more like to
agree to requests if you have agreed to an easier one
first (ex. can I use your car to go to the store? Actually
can I use it for the weekend?)
2. Role playing- you will pick up the attitude of the role
you are given (Ex. actors becoming like the roles they
play)
iii. Cognitive dissonance theory- discomfort from holding
conflicting attitudes that is solved by the inner drive to pick
one and justify it (Ex. I know smoking is bad for me but Ill
quit tomorrow)
IV.
Personality- emotional, attitudinal and behavioral response patterns
a. Evolutionary benefit
i. Extrovert- will mate with multiple partners
ii. Introvert- invest resources in one partner
iii. Neuroticism- reproductive advantage by not engaging is
risky activity
b. Theories of personality
i. Psychoanalytic perspective (Sigmund Freud)- Humans have
sexual and deterministic (cannot control) drives at each
stage of development that if not satiated will cause fixations
later in life.

V.

1.Birth-1 year: oral focus that can cause orally aggressive

(biting things) or orally passive behavior (smoking,
kissing)
2.1-3 years: anal focus that can cause anal retentive
(obsessively neat) or anal expulsive (excessively
disorganized/defiant)
3.3-6 years: gentalia focus that can cause an Oedipus
complex (desire to sexually possess the parent of
opposite sex)
4.6-puberty- dormant sexual feelings that can cause
sexual unfulfillment
5.Puberty-death- mature sexual feelings that can cause
unsatisfactory relationships, impotence
ii. Humanistic theory- people are responsible for their own free
will /urges and are motivated to fulfill their own potential (as
opposed to others)
iii. Trait theory- personality is a interworking of many traits
1.Cardinal traits- dominate throughout life, rare &
develop late (ex. Narcissism)
2.Central traits- basic foundations of personality (ex.
honest,shy, anxious)
3.Secondary traits- attitudes under specific
circumstances (ex. Shy in crowds)
iv. Social-cognitive perspective- learning and replicating the
actions of others determines behavior (ex. media influencing
personality)
1.The environment, behavior and cognition all play
interconnected roles. (ex. environment you grow up in
influences behavior but your mindset/cognition
determines where you live)
v. Behaviorist perspective- personality is learned based on
complex interactions between individual and environment;
only observable/measurable behavior
vi. Biological perspective- biological factors determine behavior
1.Neurotransmitters
a. Dopamine promotes exploratory behavior and
serotonin avoidant
2. Genes- 5-HTTLPR gene promotes anxiety via serotonin
mechanism
3. Synaptic plasticity- neurons can strengthen or weaken
through repeated stimulation allowing brain to learn
from experiences
Motivation- the desire to act towards a particular goal. Driven by:
a. Instincts- inherent inclination to perform a task (ex. Protect young,
pain recoil)
b. Arousal- physiological state of being awake or reactive to stimuli

VI.

c. Needs- necessities for organism to live healthy lives

i. Primary needs- innate drives (ex. Thirst, hunger, sex)
ii. Secondary needs- learned drives that promote primary ones
(ex. Money)
d. Drive- excitatory state produced by homeostatic disturbance (ex.
the disturbance of thirst drives one to drink)
e. Theories of motivation
i. Drive reduction theory- internal physiological need to
minimize drive (ex. the disturbance of thirst drives one to
drink fulfilling that need and decreasing drive creating a
negative feedback loop)
ii. Incentive theory- people are driven by external positive
incentives and driven away by external negative incentives
(ex. Chasing money, drinking alcohol)
iii. Need based theory- motivation is based on satisfying various
basic (ex. food/sex) to complex (ex. morality, self-esteem)
needs
iv. Cognitive theory- we are motivated through active cognitive
processing of various needs (ex. A balance of study time to
get grades but not be a nerd)
Psychological disorders- behavior pattern that causes distress, disability
and is not socially/developmentally normative (must cause distress)
a. Anxiety disorders- feeling of fear/dread/anger
i. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)- uncontrolled
thoughts/obsessions or actions/compulsions (ex. Thinking
about killing, washing hands every hour)
ii. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)- anxiety resulting from
recurrent intrusive thought of a past traumatic incident (ex.
reminded of war)
b. Mood disorders- effect your outward expression of emotions
(affect)
i. Bipolar disorder- episodes of mania (elevated mood resulting
in dangerous activities) (ex. gambling $10000, hiring
prostitutes and not remembering it)
ii. Major depressive disorder- poor mood, loss of interest in
enjoyable activities, difficulty sleeping, appetite changes,
suicidal thoughts
1. Believed to be caused by serotonin insufficiency so
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) is taken so
that serotonin is not reabsorbed into presynaptic nerve
and is left in the synapse for receptors to bind
c. Psychotic disorders- distortions of awareness and thinking
i. Schizophrenia- hallucinations (audio/visual) and delusions
1. Believed to be caused by excessive dopamine so
antipsychotics are taken to block post synaptic
receptors from binding dopamine.

d. Personality disorders- extreme/inflexible personality traits

i. Paranoid personality disorder- extreme paranoia (ex. never
leaving house because it is believed that someone is
chasing you)
e. Somatoform disorders- showing symptoms of physical illness when
there is none
i. Conversion order- loss of bodily function (ex. blindness) due
to excessive anxiety
f. Dissociative disorder- disruption of cognitive process (memory,
identity ect..
i. Dissociative identity disorder- two or more distinct
personality states
VII. Behavioral Changes
a. Associative Learning- An association is created between a two
stimuli or a behavior and stimulus is learned
i. Classical Conditioning- the repeated pairing of an
unconditioned stimulus with another neutral stimulus to
create an association between the two
1. Processes of classical conditioning
a. Acquisition- response established and gradually
strengthened
b. Extinction- conditioned responses disappear
c. Spontaneous recovery- reappearance of
conditioned response
d. Generalization- similar stimulus is still evoking
response
e. Discrimination- similar stimulus can be
differenciated
2. Pavlovian example- A dog salivates to the presence of food
(an unconditioned response to an unconditioned stimulus).
The same dog does not salivate to the sound of a whistle
(no response to a neutral stimulus). When the food and
whistle are combined the dog salivates again (still an
unconditioned response). After repeated combination of
the stimulus the dog forms an association between the two
and salivates to the whistle alone (a conditioned response
to a conditioned stimulus)
ii. Operant Conditioning- use of a consequence to modify
behavior occurrence
1. Reinforcement- objective is to increase behavior
a. Positive- adding appetitive stimulus (ex. giving a
dog treat)
b. Negative- decrease in noxious stimulus
i. Escape- remove noxious stimulus (ex.
snoozing an alarm)

ii. Active avoidance- avoiding noxious

stimulus (study to avoid bad grade)
c. Reinforcement schedules
i. Continuous- desired behavior reinforced
every time
ii. Fixed ratio- reinforced after certain # of
responses
iii. Variable ratio- reinforced after
unpredictable # of responses
iv. Fixed interval- reinforced after a fixed
amount of time
v. Variable interval- reinforced after
unpredictable amount of time
2. Punishment- objective is to decrease behavior
a. Positive- adding noxious stimulus (ex. spanking
a child)
b. Negative- removing appetitive stimulus (ex. no
more TV)
b. Non-associative learning-A change in the strength of a response to
a single stimulus due to repeated exposure to it
i. Habituation- getting used to a stimulus (ex. white noise of
traffic)
ii. Sensitization- repeated stimulus causes response
amplification (ex. getting irritated by someone saying like
too many times)
c. Elaboration likelihood model- there are 2 ways we are persuaded
i. Central pathway- able to pay attention so permanent
conclusions are based on what is actually happening (ex.
Presidential plan for the country)
ii. Peripheral pathway- not able to pay attention so temporary
conclusions are based on peripheral cues (ex. How good
looking the president is)
iii. Elements of attitude change via persuasion
1. Source characteristics- person who delivers the
message (ex. population)
2. Target characteristics- person who receives the
message (ex. president)
3. Message characteristics- the nature of the actual
message (ex. radio ad)
VIII. Social processes- how society as a whole functions and how these factors
influence an individuals behaviors
a. Social facilitation- tendency for people to perform better when in
presence of others (ex. running faster against competitors than against
the clock)

iii.
1.
2.

iv.

b. Deindividuation-decreased self-evaluation when others have same

attitudes/behaviors (ex. members of lynch mob have decrease moral
compass)
c. Bystander effect- people dont help a victim when others are present
because of a diffusion of their own responsibility (ex. someone else can
give $$ to homeless)
d. Social loafing- people deliberately exerting less effort when they work in
a group (ex. not pulling 100% in a tug of war)
e. Social control- mechanism to regulate behavior and attain conformity
i. Peer pressure- peer encourages one change attitudes to conform to
group
f. Group polarization- groups make more extreme decisions than an
individual would have (ex. KKK members are more racist when together
than apart)
g. Groupthink- disagreeing groups have a desire for harmony and will
pursue this harmony until everyone agrees (ex. 12 angry men)
IX. Culture- classifying/representing experiences with symbols, language,
beliefs, norms and customs
a.Assimilation- a person is brought into a foreign culture and theirs comes
to resemble that of the foreign one by choice or force (ex. Mexicans at
mcdonalds)
b.Counterculture- subculture whose values/norms differ from those of
mainstream society (ex. Amish, hippies)
c. Socialization- lifelong process of inheriting/disseminating culture
(becoming socialized)
d.Norms- group held beliefs about how members should behave in given
context
i. Anomie- social instability due to society not providing norms
ii. Norm categories
1. Folkways- routine/casual (ex. dress code, eating style)
2. Mores- strict moral behaviors (ex. religious doctrines)
3. Taboos- strongly opinionated, disgust for participants (ex.
incest,cannibals)
Deviance- behaviors that violate social norms (from least to greatest)
Conformity- follow all rules of society
Innovation- accept cultural goals but achieves differently (ex. robber)
3. Ritualism- rejects cultural goals but believes in the methods to
achieve them (ex. farmer works hard but does not care for money)
4. Retreatism- reject both the goals and the methods (ex. alcoholics)
5. Rebellion- rejects both, and comes up with new methods (ex. KKK)
Deviance theories
1. Differential association- deviance motives are learned from
interactions with others (ex. robbing is fun and I have never been
caught so Ill do it)

4.

2. Labeling theory- deviance is not inherent but due to the majority

labeling the minority (ex. labeling someone a robber will make them
act that way)
3. Strain theory- social obstacles prevent people from reaching societal
goals so they find other ways (ex. robbing because you dont have
an education)
Absolutist approach- defiance is inherent in the individual (ex. nature)
5. Inteactionist approach- defiance is not a real thing, simply a name
that a society gives to a very relative behavior (ex. some cultures
perform incest)
e.Sanctions- positive or negative reactions to a mode of conduct which is
not following a particular norm (ex. capital punishment, promotions at
work)
f. Stigmas-discrediting attributes due to extreme disapproval of dominant
social group (ex. all fat people are lazy, all Iraqis are terrorists)

Lecture 3 (12/24/14)
I. Self-concept/identity- collection of all beliefs about oneself
a. Social identity- perceived membership in a social group (ex. christian,
democrat)
b. Self-esteem- emotional evaluation of self worth
c. Self-efficacy- confidence in ability to complete tasks
d. Locus of control- belief that you can control events that effect you
i. Internal locus- events are a result of you (ex. blaming yourself for test
grade)
ii. External locus- events are a result of environment (ex. blaming
teacher for grade)
e. Components of identity- these are not black and white but fall on a
spectrum
i. Class- rank/level in society (ex. wealthy, poor)
ii. Race- persons physical appearance (ex: skin color)
iii. Ethnicity- persons cultural factors (ex. Jewish, Italian)

ii.

iv. Sex- biological make up of reproductive anatomy (penis-male, vaginafemale)

v. Gender- personal identification of sex via lifestyles
vi. Sexual orientation- preferred attraction of sex gender relative to your
own
f. Theories of identity development
i. Eriksons theory- differentiates stages based on psychosocial crisis
struggles
1. Age 0-2- crisis: trust vs mistrust (ex. can I trust to put this food in
my mouth)
2. Age 2-4- crisis: autonomy vs reliance (ex. can I poop on my own)
3. Age 4-5- crisis: initiative vs homeostasis (ex. can I get away not
brushing teeth)
4. Age 5-12- crisis: industry vs inferiority (ex. can I make it in the
world)
5. Age 13-19- crisis: identity vs not knowing (ex. who am I?)
6. Age 20-39- crisis: intimacy vs isolation (ex. can I love?)
7. Age 40-64- crisis: generativity vs stagnation (ex. can I make life
count)
8. Age 65-death- crisis: ego integrity vs despair (ex. did I make life
count?)
Kohlberg theory- differentiates stages bases on how ideals that are held
1. Infancy- we do right things solely to avoid punishment (obedience
stage)
2. Pre-school- we do right things for rewards they offer (self-interest
stage)
3. School-age- we do right things to secure peer approval (conformity
stage)
4. Teens- we do right things for mutual benefit they bring (social
contract stage)
5. Adulthood- do right things b/c they are morally just (universal
principles stage)
II. Social thinking- how we view others and the environment
a. Attribution theory- using information to arrive at casual explanations of
events
i. Internal- behavior is intrinsic to the person (ex. he cut the line
because hes selfish)
ii. External- behavior is based on the situation (ex. he cut the line b/c
hes in a rush)
iii. Fundamental attribution error- placing too much emphasis on the
internal factors of attribution theory (ex. the world is a bad place
because everyone in it is evil)
b. Prejudice- preconceived opinions not based on reason or actual
experiences (ex. fat people are lazy, intelligent, poor ect)
i. Bias- one sided/lacking neutral viewpoint

ii. Stigma- disapproval of someone based on a specific quality that

distinguishes them (ex. fat people are lazy)
iii. Cognitive components of prejudice- characteristics believed to be true
of all members of a specific group (ex. out group homogeneity:
doctors view nurses as all the same but other doctors as unique)
iv. Emotional components of prejudice- the emotions experienced from a
prejudice toward an out group
1. Aversive prejudice- you dont want to have the negative thoughts
but do anyway
2. Dominative prejudice- deliberately/actively keeping
another group in inferior position
v. Discrimination- the actual unjust actions that result from a held
prejudice
1. Individual- one person discriminating (ex. bar owner only
allows whites)
2. Institutionalized- an organization discriminates (ex. US
government)
vi. Stereotypes- positive/negative, right/wrong
generalizations about specific types of individuals (ex.
all cops eat doughnuts, all jews are rich)
1. Types of stereotypes are based on:
a. Warmth- how you feel/the respect you
possess for the individual
b. Competence- your internal evaluation on
the individuals abilities
2. Stereotype threat- the experience of anxiety
due the belief that you will confirm a negative
stereotype will cause you to actually confirm it
(ex. Blacks are told they perform worse on tests
so they actually will)
vii. Ethnocentrism- judging another culture based solely
on the values of your own (ex. cannibalism is wrong
because I was taught that is was)
viii. Cultural relativism- (Franz Boas): civilization is not
absolute but relative to your own culture (opposite of
ethnocentrism)
ix. Self fulfilling prophesy- a false conception causes a
change in behavior causing that false conception to
actually come true (ex. if you believe a drug will
make you loose weight you will exercise more than
someone who does not believe in the drug and thus
loose more weight)
III.
Social aspects of society
a. Status- position/rank of person within society
i. Achieved- acquired status based on merit (ex. getting
into med school)

ii. Ascribed- assigned status based on uncontrollable

factors (ex. inheriting $$)
iii. Socioeconomic- total measure of achieved and
ascribed status based on social and economic factors
like income and education
b. Role- behaviors ascribed to an individual based on a
particular situation
i. Role conflict- when two or more roles have conflicting
requirements (ex. a business woman has a vital
meeting during her childs birthday)
ii. Role strain- role is strained due to excessive
obligations of the role (ex. a single parent suffers
because they cannot juggle everything alone)
iii. Role exit- a person leaves a role that was central to
their lives (ex. divorce)
c. Social groups- a collection of people with common identities
and have shared expectations of their interactions with
each other
i. Primary group- close, personal/permanent relationship
(ex. you and best friends)
ii. Secondary group- less personal/temporary
relationships (ex. church group)
iii. Group sizes- dyad (2 people); triad (3); tetrad (4);
decreasing stability
iv. Network- groups of people connected to each other
v. Organization- groups of people connected to each
other with identifiable memberships and who have an
underlying purpose/goal
1. Bureaucracy- a large institution with several
administrative groups (ex. the US government
and department of motor vehicles)
a. Ideal bureaucracy- bureaucracy defined
by Max Weber that have hierarchy, rules,
is impersonal and merit based
b. Iron law of bureaucracy- People gain
power/authority and eventually pursue
the goals of the bureaucracy rather than
the administrative groups they were
assigned to (ex. education unions
lobbying for better pay of teachers
instead of focusing on teaching the kids)
d. Social behaviors
i. Impression management- goal directed behavior to
influence perceptions of others
1.Integration- using flattery and praise so the
person likes you

ii.

iii.
iv.

2.Intimidation- intimidation the person so they

obey you
Dramaturgical Approach- theory that people have roles and society is the
audience
1. Front stage behaviors- adhering to social convention in the presence
of others (ex. waiter respecting clients to their faces)
2. Back stage behaviors- stepping out of character in absence of
audience (ex. waiter is casual in the kitchen)
Communication- verbal/nonverbal
Biological explanations of behavior
1. Foraging- searching for wild resources
2. Mating behaviors- (ex. peacock display of feathers)
3. Attraction- quality that causes an interest in an individual
4. Aggression- social interaction with intent of inflicting damage
5. Attachment- affectionate tie between individuals
6. Social support- actual and perceptional idea that one is cared for in
a network
7. Altruism- instinctive behaviors that are detrimental to the individual
but helpful to others (ex. baboons grooming each other, walrus
adopting babies)
a. Group selection- antidarwinistic approach that says that altruistic
behavior is an attempt to preserve genes of the just the group
b. Inclusive fitness- antidarwinistic approach that says that altruistic
behavior is an attempt to preserve all fitness including ones own

Lecture 4 (12/25/14)
I. Sociology- study of social behavior, its origins, development, organization,
and institutions.
a. Microsociology- small scale everyday human interactions (ex. face to
face)

b. Macrosociology- large scale analysis of systems/populations (ex. social

trends)
II. Theories on how society functions
a. Social exchange theory- Social change and stability is achieved through
negotiated exchanges that come with rewards and punishments
(operant conditioning on macro scale)
b. Rational choice theory- Social processes are based on rationality (ex.
you will make decisions that provide more utility to your livelihood)
III. Social structure- patterns of social arrangements (ex. nuclear family vs
extended family)
a. Theories of social structure
i. Functionalism- positive view that society is a complex system with
many parts working together to promote solidarity and stability (ex.
the military)
ii. Conflict theory- individuals/groups have different amounts of resources
and those with more use their power to exploit groups with less
iii. Symbolic interactionism- Society ascribes meaning to behaviors which
we in turn decide to obey or not based on our own interpretive
processes (ex. society says smoking is bad so we dont do it, but some
individuals decide to because a coolness factor overrides health
implications)
iv. Social constructionism- Society creates social realities and models of
the social world primarily though language (ex. a black vs white
distinction when we are nearly genetically identical)
b. Social institutions- structure or mechanism of social order meant to
govern the behavior of its individuals
i. Education
1. Hidden curriculum- lessons learned in school that are not openly
intended/taught in the classroom (ex. norms, relationships)
2. Teacher expectancy- teachers subconsciously treat students
differently based on their perception of the students competence
hence getting their expected results
3. Educational segregation/stratification- disproportionate presence of
certain races/ethnicities in schools
ii. Families
1. Kinship- studies the patterns of social relationships
a. Primary kin- directly/physically close (ex. husband and wife)
b. Secondary kin- people related by primary kin (ex. cousins)
2. Family- individuals related by blood, marriage or cohabitation
a. Nuclear- husband, wife, unmarried children
b. Matrifocal- mother and her children
c. Extended- aunts, uncles, grandparents
d. Blended- remarried parents combining nuclear families (ex. step
brother)
iii. Religion
1. Religiosity- how religious a group of people are

2. Types of organizations
a. Churches- bureaucratic organizations closely integrated in society
(ex. cathlolic church)
b. Sects- organization not integrated in society/opposing its norms
(ex. Amish)
c. Cults- organization at great odds with norms/values (ex. KKK)
d. Social change regarding religion
i. Modernization- transition from premodern to modern
ii. Secularization- as society becomes more modern it becomes
less religious
iii. Fundamentalism- strict adherence to orthodox theological
doctrine (Ex. Al Qaeda)
iv. Government/Economy
1. Power- ability to control others, events, resources (ex. murderer has
power)
2. Authority- rightful power granted to a person (ex. judge has
authority)
3. Economic systems
a. Capitalism- economy controlled by private owners with profit
objectives
b. Socialism- economy controlled by government (ex. Cuba)
c. Feudalism- economy based on land ownership as currency
d. Mixed economy- both private and public sectors are implemented
(ex. US)
4. Division of labor- specialization of cooperating individuals to perform
tasks
v. Healthcare
1. Medicalization- human conditions and problems are treated as
medical conditions (ex. putting alcoholic in therapy instead of jail)
2. Sick role- sick individuals enter a role of sanctioned deviance (ex.
someone that has a fever does not need to go to work)
IV. Social structure
a. Cultural framework- the above social institutions lie in a cultural
framework
i. Culture lag- culture takes time to catch up to technological
advancements
ii. Culture shock- disorientation when experimenting a new culture (ex.
immigrants)
iii. Material culture- the physical objects people use to define their culture
iv. Transmission of culture- passing new information to future generations
v. Diffusions of culture- spread of cultural items from one cultute to
another
1. Direct- two cultures very close together exchange
2. Forced- one culture conquers another and forces its culture on it
3. Indirect- culture is transmitted via a middleman (ex. Canadians
eating tacos)

a.
b.

b. Demographics- statistics and their changing nature of populations

i. Cohort- group of people with certain characteristics that are grouped
together
ii. Malthusian theory- population will reach a level too high to support
agricultural production and we will be forced to return to subsistence
conditions
iii. Demographic transition theory- as countries become more industrial
birth/death rates decrease (deciding if you want children, better
healthcare)
iv. Demographic stats
1. Fertility- measures capability to produce offspring
a. Crude birth rate- total births per 1000
b. General fertility rate- total births per women aged 15-44
2. Migration- immigration-emigration (coming in minus leaving)
Push factors- unfavorable conditions of the origin location
Pull factors- favorable conditions of the destination location
3. Mortality- deaths per 1000
c. Gender- a spectrum of how one perceives their biological sex
i. Social construction of gender- society created gender roles, they are
not inherent
ii. Gender segregation- physical/legal/cultural separation of people based
on gender
d. Race
i. Social construction of race- society creates race, it is not biologically
inherent
1. Racialization- ascribing ethnic/racial identities to a group that does
not itself identify as such
2. Racial formation theory- racialization occurs in an attempt to
diminish status of minority groups to gain control over them
V. Social movements- groupings of individuals/organizations who focus on
particular political/social issues (ex. civil rights, feminism)
a. Relative deprivation- lack of resources to sustain a lifestyle that is widely
encouraged in the society you are in (ex. not having electronics in the
USA)
b. Social movement organization- organized component of a social
movement (ex. PETA in the veganism movement)
c. Globalization- internal integration due to interchange of world view,
products, ideas, and other aspects of culture between societies
i. Economic interdependence- a society is unable to produce everything
for themselves and so they are dependent on those who can
ii. Perspective of globalization
1. Hyperglobalist- positive perspective; globalization is a new epoch in
human history that brings the demise of the nation state
2. Skeptical- negative perspective, globalization is causing
fragmentation of economies and third world becoming marginalized
(being left out)

3. Transformationalist- the pros/cons of globalization are unclear as of

now
d. Urbanization- increased number of people living in urban areas
i. Industrialization/urban growth- in the late 19th/early 20th centuries the
US saw massive expansion of cities due to them becoming centers of
industry as opposed to trade centers
ii. Suburbanization/urban decline- post world war 2 era that saw the
boom of suburbs due to highways, low mortgage rates, and city crime
rates
iii. Gentrification- shift of urban communities toward wealthier residencies
(ex. the hoodgated communities)
iv. Urban renewal- land development in urban areas (ex. apartment
complexfarm)
VI. Social inequality- unequal amount/quality of resources amount groups of
people
a. Spatial inequality- based on location (ex. water in the hood vs gated
community)
i. Residential segregation- physical separation of groups into different
neighborhoods
b. Global inequality- based on the country you live in (ex. health care in US vs
Brazil)
c. Environmental justice- movement promoting development of regulations
that promotes equality in terms of protection from health
hazards/environmental concerns (ex. removing pollutants from rivers in
urban areas)
d. Social stratification- classification of people into groups based on their
socioeconomic conditions (ex. you are poor, you are rich, you are
different people)
i. Social reproduction- transmission of social inequality from one
generation to the next (ex. wealthy pass on estates, poor pass on little
houses)
ii. Class consciousness- awareness about the social class/rank you are in
iii. False consciousness- unawareness about the social class/rank you are
in
e. Social exclusion- social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of
society (ex. the aboriginals in Australia forced into destitute areas
loosing variety of resources)
f. Cultural capital- nonfinancial assets that promote social mobility (ex.
wearing a suit to an interview)
g. Social capital- financial assets derived from preferential treatment
between individuals/groups (ex. poor people get more aid money than
rich people)
h. Social mobility- movement of individuals within social positions
i. Upward/downward mobility- moving up/down in status
ii. Types of mobility

1. Horizontal- changing positions within same level (ex. job at wendys

to job at mcdonalds)
2. Intergenerational- changing position level from one generation to the
next
3. Intragenerational- changing positions level within your lifetime
iii. Privilege- special right/advantage granted to an individual/group
iv. Prestige- being held in high regard, deserved or unwarranted