The Nature of Psychology

The Nature of • Psychology

• Can be defined as the scientific study of behavior and
Psychology

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mental processes

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• Psychology is very broad in its scope

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• Topics include face recognition, social judgements,

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Naveen Kashyap, PhD
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Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati memory, obesity, violence and many more
Email: [Link]@[Link]
• Psychologists may disagree
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• Research is conducted to increase our knowledge about
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how people think and behave, and different studies may
find different things

The Historical Origins of Psychology The Historical Origins of Psychology

• The roots of psychology date back to 4th & 5th centuries BC • Scientific psychology
• The idea that the mind and behavior could be the subject
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and the great philosophers of ancient Greece
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of scientific study developed in the late 19th Century
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• Nature-nurture debate
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• One of the earliest debates focused on whether human • Early “schools” of psychology included:
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capabilities are inborn (nature) or acquired through • Structuralism: analysis of mental structures
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experience (nurture) • Functionalism: study of mental adaptation
• Most psychologists these days take an integrated approach
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• Behaviorism: thoughts cannot be observed, only actions
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and look at how nature and nurture combine to shape

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• Gestalt Psychology: experience shapes perception

human psychology
• Psychoanalysis: the unconscious shapes the conscious

The Historical Origins of Psychology Contemporary Psychological

Perspectives
• Twentieth Century Developments
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• Information-processing models:
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study of humans as processors of information

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• Psycholinguistics:
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study of mental structures associated with language

• Neuropsychology:
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study of relationship between neurological events

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and mental processes

 Contemporary Psychological Contemporary Psychological
Perspectives Perspectives
• Cognitive Perspective
• Biological Perspective

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• Behavior understood by study of mental processes

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• Seeks to understand the relationship between

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including perceiving, remembering, reasoning, deciding

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behavior and neurobiological processes and problem solving
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• Behavioral Perspective • Psychoanalytic Perspective
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• Regards nearly all behavior as the result of • Behavior is the result of unconscious processes, including
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conditioning and reinforcement desires, fears and beliefs

Contemporary Psychological Contemporary Psychological

Perspectives Perspectives
• Subjectivist perspective • ...Relationships between psychological and biological
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• Behavior is understood in relation to people’s subjective
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perspectives
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experience and construction of the world around them
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• Reductionism: oversimplifying complex psycho-social
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phenomena, e.g., in terms of biological principles
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Relationships between psychological and biological • Psychological findings, concepts and principles can direct
perspectives focus of biological research
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• Biology alone insufficient as it acts in concert with past

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Biological perspective differs from these other

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perspectives in that its principles are partly drawn from circumstances and current environment
biology

Contemporary Psychological
Perspectives How Psychological Research is Done
• Twenty-first century psychology
• Generating hypotheses
• Cognitive neuroscience: focuses on understanding cognitive
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• First step in research is to decide a hypothesis – a statement

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processes using new techniques including neuroimaging and

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that can be tested

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brain-scanning
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• Source for hypothesis is often scientific theory – an inter-

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• Evolutionary psychology: studies the biological origins of

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related set of propositions about a particular phenomenon

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psychological mechanisms. It also incorporates ideas from

anthropology and psychiatry • Testing hypotheses based on competing theories is a good way
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to advance scientific knowledge

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• Cultural psychology: studies how culture influences mental

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• Scientific methods are unbiased (do not favor either

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representations and psychological processes

hypothesis) and reliable (same results would be found by
• Positive psychology: seeks to understand human flourishing research being repeated)
using empirical methods
How Psychological Research is Done How Psychological Research is Done
• ...Experiments
• Experiments
• Experimental group (hypothesized cause present) and control

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• Scientific method where conditions controlled in order to

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group (hypothesized cause absent). Control group provides

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discover cause and effect relationships between variables

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baseline for comparison

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(variable = something measurable that can occur with
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• Random assignment: allocating participants to groups so that

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different values)
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each participant has an equal chance of being placed in any
• Independent variable: hypothesised “cause”; variable group
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precisely controlled by experimenter (e.g., lectures) • Measurement: system for assigning numbers to variables
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• Dependent variable: hypothesised “effect”; variable • Statistics: mathematical discipline that enables summarizing
influenced by independent variable (e.g., test scores) and interpreting results

How Psychological Research is Done How Psychological Research is Done

• Correlation
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• Method used for situations where experiments are
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not feasible
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Insert Figure 1.6
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• Correlation is used to determine whether a naturally
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occurring variable is associated (correlated) with
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another variable of interest
• Statistic used is correlation coefficient (symbolized by
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r), which estimates degree to which two variables are

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related (between -1.00 and +1.00)

How Psychological Research is Done How Psychological Research is Done

• Observation
• ...Correlation does not mean causation • Direct observation: to simply observe the phenomenon under
• In experimental study an independent variable is
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study as it occurs naturally

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systematically manipulated to determine its effect on a • Accuracy in recording behavior is essential to avoid bias
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• Survey method: where direct observation difficult, indirect

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dependent variable – we cannot infer cause-and-effect

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relationships from correlational studies because: observation survey methods can be used including
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• It is not possible to say which variable is independent questionnaires or interviews.

• Survey method more open to bias, especially social
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and which variable is dependent

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desirability effects
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• It may be possible that two variables can be correlated

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• Case histories: partial biography of a particular individual

when neither is the cause of the other
• Major limitation is reliance on people’s memories of past
events
How Psychological Research is Done How Psychological Research is Done
• Literature reviews • Ethics of psychological research
• Scholarly summary of an existing body of research on a • Human research ethics principles include:

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particular topic • Minimal risk: risks associated with the research should be no

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• Two forms of literature review greater than those encountered in daily life

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• Narrative review: authors write descriptions of studies • Informed consent: participants should be informed of issues that
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previously conducted & discuss strengths of available may affect willingness to take part in a study, must voluntarily
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evidence participate & be able to withdraw at any time without penalty.
• May be systematic or non-systematic, thorough or Where it is not possible to fully inform participants they must be
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selective debriefed as soon as possible afterwards
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• Right to privacy: personal information must be kept confidential
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• Meta-analysis: statistical techniques used to combine and
interpret evidence of studies previously conducted unless otherwise agreed by a participant’s explicit consent
• Thorough and systematic

How Psychological Research is Done

• ...Ethics of psychological research

Sensory Processes
• Animal research ethics principles include:
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• Two main reasons why animals are used in psychological
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research include understanding of animal behavior in itself
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and to gain models for human systems which could be
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impossible or unethical to obtain from humans Naveen Kashyap, PhD
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Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
• Ethical principles require thorough justification in terms of Email: [Link]@[Link]
knowledge gained to allow any harmful or painful
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procedures on animals
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• Researchers required to treat animals humanely and

minimise suffering

Sensory Processes Sensations – at the psychological level are fundamental,

raw experiences associated with stimuli (sensations of sight
Human beings at all times are bombarded with a range of can register colored, shaped objects). The perceptual level is
information. Even at the calmest circumstances, a tapestry of
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the integration and meaningful interpretation of these raw

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information bombards us. Living organisms need to assimilate and

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sensory experiences.
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interpret at least some of these information to appropriately

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Characteristics of Sensory Modality

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interact with the world. This is two part process

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1)Which aspects of the environmental information register with our Two characteristic are common to all sensory modality
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senses and which don’t?

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1) Sensitivity – describes sensory modalities at a psychological level

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2)How the sense organs work to effectively acquire the information

2) Sensory Coding – describes sensory modalities at the biological level.
that is acquirable?
Sensitivity 2) Differential threshold – by how much must stimulus intensity be
In psychology sensitivity is expressed using the concept of raised from some standard, defined to be some arbitrary level, to
thresholds. There are two types of threshold distinguish the new, higher level from the base level.

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a) Absolute threshold – the minimum magnitude of a stimulus that

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Just Noticeable Difference (jnd) – is the minimum difference in

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can be reliably discriminated from no stimulus at all (e. g., the stimulus magnitude necessary to tell two stimuli apart.

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weakest light that can be discriminated from darkness).

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Two German scientists – Heinrich Weber a physiologist and Gustav
Psychological procedures are experimental techniques for Fechner a physicist, were one of the first people to conduct
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measuring the relation between the physical magnitude of some experiments on thresholds. Their seminal finding was – the larger
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stimulus (physical intensity of light) and the resulting psychological the value of the standard stimulus, the less sensitive the sensory
response (how bright the light appears to be). system is to change in intensity.

Across a wide range of stimulus circumstances the relationship can Characteristics of Sensory Modalities
be explained as –
Signal detection theory
..the intensity by which the standard stimulus must be increased to Information consists of signals and noise where “signal” refers to
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important aspect of information and “noise” refers to unimportant
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be noticed is proportional to the intensity of the standard….
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aspect of information
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Which leads to
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Weber’s law : ∆s/s = c ; where s is standard, ∆s is jnd and c =
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constant
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Fechner’s law : r = c log (∆s/s )

Characteristics of Sensory Modalities Characteristics of Sensory Modalities

Signal detection theory Sensory coding
Hits and false alarms Two fundamental issues for sensory systems
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False alarm – signal falsely detected where there is only noise

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1) How to translate incoming physical information and how to encode

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Hit – signal correctly detected

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aspects of physical information to corresponding neural representation

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Sensitivity of sensory organ indicated by differences in hits and false

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alarms
Sensitivity and bias 2) Specialized cells called receptors (specialized neurons) detect
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stimulus (are activated) and pass an electrical signal to connecting

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Useful characteristic of signal detection analysis – allows process of

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neurons through to cortex where the electrical signal results in

detecting stimulus to be separated into two numbers – one representing
conscious sensory experience
sensitivity to signal and one representing bias in stating “signal present”
 Characteristics of Sensory Modalities Vision
Coding of intensity and quality
• Light and vision
1) Useful sensory information includes intensity and quality of
• Each sense responds to particular form of physical

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stimulus

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energy, for vision stimulus – light (electromagnetic

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2) Primary means for coding intensity of stimulus is via the rate of radiation in range 400-700 nanometers)

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neural impulses – greater intensity, greater firing rate and

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greater firing rate, greater perceived magnitude of stimulus
3) Coding quality is more complex. It is generally agreed that the • The visual system
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• The eyes, parts of the brain and pathways between
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brain codes qualitative differences between sensory modalities
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according to the specific neural pathways involved. Sensory • Eyes contain two systems – image formation and image
system may also use a pattern of neural firing to code quality of transduction
sensation

Vision Vision
• Rods • ...The visual system
– Allow humans to see in black, white, and shades of gray in dim • Image formation system
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light • Function to focus light reflected from object to form image on
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retina. Light enters cornea and is focussed on the retina by
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– Mostly in the periphery
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lens (aided by cornea). Light levels controlled by pupil to
– Take 20 – 30 minutes to fully adapt to darkness
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maintain image quality
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• Cones
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– Enable humans to see color and fine detail in adequate light, • Transduction system
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but that do not function in dim light • Receptors in retina – rods and cones (rods specialised for night
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– Mostly in the fovea vision, cones for day vision). Absorption of light by
– Adapt fully to darkness in 2 – 3 minutes photopigments in receptors starts transduction process –
result neural impulse travels to brain via neurons

Vision Vision
• Seeing light • Seeing patterns
• Sensitivity – determined by rods and cones
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• Three key differences between them • Visual acuity – the eye’s ability to resolve details
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• Measurement commonly optician’s eye chart – method

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• Activated under different levels of light

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• Specialized for different tasks cannot distinguish between spatial acuity (ability to see
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• Concentrated in different locations on retina details of form) & contrast acuity (ability to see differences in
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brightness)
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• Dark adaptation – change in ability to see in the dark

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• Sensory experience associated with viewing patterns

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• Two processes account for it – pupil size changes and determined by way neurons register light and dark
photochemical changes in receptors
• Example: the Hermann Grid (see next slide)
 Vision Vision
• ...Seeing patterns • Seeing color
• Visible light is alike except for the wavelength which the visual

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system turns into color

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• Wavelengths – short (blue), medium (green), long (red)

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• Color appearance
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• Seeing color is subjective in the sense that color is a
construction of brain but also objective in the sense that any
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two viewers appear to construct color in same way
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• Three dimensions – hue (color’s name), brightness (quantity
light reflected) & saturation (color purity)

Vision Vision
• Hue • ...Seeing color
– The property of light commonly referred to as color, • Theories of color vision
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determined primarily by the wavelength of light reflected
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• Trichromatic theory – only three types of receptors for
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from a surface
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color (cones) & quality of color coded by activity
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• Saturation
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pattern of receptors. For deficiency one or more type
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– The degree to which light waves producing a color are of the
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receptor missing
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same wavelength; the purity of a color
• Brightness Three Types of Cones
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– The dimension of visual sensation that is dependent on the

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intensity of light reflected from a surface and that S-Cones M-Cones L-Cones
corresponds to the amplitude of the light wave (Sensitive to blue) (Sensitive to Green) (Sensitive to Red)

Opponent color theory – developed from findings not

explained by trichromatic theory. Argues that two types
of color-sensitive units exist (red-green & blue-yellow) &
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each responds in opposite ways to opponent colors

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Afterimage
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After you have stared at one color in an opponent-

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process pair (red/green, yellow/blue, black/white), the

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cell responding to that color tires and the opponent cell

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begins to fire, producing the afterimage

 Five Functions of Perception
Vision 1) Attention is used to make decisions about which incoming information is to be
further processed and which is to be discarded

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2) The system must be able to determine where objects of interests are in the

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external environment

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3) The perceptual system must be able to determine which objects are out there

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in the environment

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4) The system must be able to abstract the critical features of a recognized

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object
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• ...Seeing color

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5) The perceptual system must maintain certain inherent features of objects
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• ...Theories of color vision
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• now integrated into two-stage theory

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Attention
The study of attention concerns primarily the cognitive resources and their limitations. At
Eye Movements
any given time people have only a certain amount of mental energy to devote to all the possible
tasks and all the incoming information confronting them. Attention is sometimes synonymously used The process of seeing starts with visual
with mental concentration. scanning in the form of fixations, which
are – brief periods during which the eyes
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Does people’s concentration level change with practice ?
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are relatively stationary, separated by

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saccades, which are – quick jumps of the
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Selective Attention
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at S ap
eye from one place to the next.
ia

ia
G itie K vio

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oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
The term selective attention refers to the fact that we usually focus out attention on one
IIT an ee eha

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or a few tasks or events rather than on many. We mentally focus our resources implies that we shut
um av B

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The points on which the eyes fixate are
n

n
a
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
out (or atleast process less information from) other competing tasks. As attention researcher Hal
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
Pashle puts it not random, but rather are the areas of
H

H
at any given moment [people’s] awareness encompasses only a tiny proportion
scene that contains the most information.
Experiments to verify this stated by
of the stimuli impringing on their sensory systems
showing scenes of a farmyard with either
en

en
tm

tm

a tractor / octopus in the middle. It was

ar

ar
ep

ep

found that eye fixations were directed

D

earlier and more frequently to the un-

usual object (tractor).

Divided Attention Without Eye Movements Localization

Localization of information in the external environment is essential for solving

Humans can also selectively attend to some visual stimulus without moving their
the following problems
eyes. In experiments that demonstrate this, observers have to detect when an
1) Navigating our way through the ever cluttered environment
object occurs. On each trial, the person stares at a blank field and then sees a
es

es

2) Grasping an object
c

nc

brief cue, which is a directing stimulus such as a small arrow that directs the
en

ie
ci

c
lS

lS

subject to attend wither to the left or to the right. An object is then presented
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap

Localization is achieved by first separating the objects from one another and the
ia

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G itie K vio

either in a location indicated by the cue or the opposite location. The interval
oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha

separating each from the background

between the cue and the object is too brief for observers to move their eyes, yet
um av B

um av B
n

n
a
i

i
H N n

H N n

then can detect the object faster in the cued location than when it occurs than
of rof. ma

of rof. ma

Separation of Objects
P Hu

P Hu

elsewhere.
Figure and Background – the most elementary form of perceptual organization
is that in the a stimulus with two or more distinct regions, we usually see part of
t

t
en

en
rtm

rtm

it as a figure and the rest as background.

a

a
ep

ep
D

The regions seen as figure contains the objects of interest, which appear more
solid than the ground and appear in front of it. The ground is the region that
appears to be behind the figure.
 Figure Ground Relationship Gestalt Psychology
• Gestalt psychologists focused on
how we GROUP objects together.
• We innately look at things in groups

s
Our first perceptual

ce

ce
en

en
and not as isolated elements.

ci

ci
decision is what is the

lS

lS
• Proximity (group objects that are

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
image is the figure and close together as being part of

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same group)
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what is the background.
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f H f. N an
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t o Pro um
• Similarity (objects similar in
H

H
appearance are perceived as being
part of same group)
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• Continuity (objects that form a
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continuous form are perceived as
a

a
ep

ep
same group)
D

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• Closure (like top-down
processing…we fill gaps in if we can
recognize it)

Perceiving Distance
Perceiving Distance Perceiving distance requires depth cues, different kinds of visual information that, logically
or mathematically, provide information about some objects depth
Perceiving distance requires depth cues, different kinds of visual information
that, logically or mathematically, provide information about some objects depth. Depth Cues
s

es
ce

Monocular Cues • Eleanor Gibson and her

nc
en

ie
ci

c
lS

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Visual Cliff Experiment.
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
1) Relative Size – If an image contains an array of similar objects that differ in size, the
ia

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G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
viewer intercepts the smaller objects as being farther away
IIT an ee eha

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• If you are old enough to
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um av B
n

n
a
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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
2) Interposition – If an object is positioned so that it obstructs the view of the other, the crawl, you are old enough
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t o Pro um
viewer perceives the overlapping object as being nearer
H

H
to see depth perception.
3) Relative Height – Among similar objects, those that appear closer to the horizon are
• We see depth by using
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perceived as being farther away
tm

tm

two cues that researchers

ar

ar
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4) Perspective – When parallel lines in a scene appear to converge in the image, they are
D

perceived as vanishing in the distance have put in two

5) Shading & Shadows – the configuration if shading and shadows provides information
categories:
about an objects depth • Monocular Cues
• Binocular Cues

Interposition
Relative Size
Monocular Cues

1) Relative Size – If an image contains an array of similar objects

that differ in size, the viewer intercepts the smaller objects as
es

es

being farther away

c

nc
en

ie
ci

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio

2) Interposition – If an object is positioned so that it obstructs the

oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
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view of the other, the viewer perceives the overlapping object as

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a
i

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H N n

H N n
of rof. ma

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being nearer
P Hu

P Hu

3) Relative Height – Among similar objects, those that appear

t

t
en

en

closer to the horizon are perceived as being farther away

rtm

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a

a
ep

ep
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4) Perspective – When parallel lines in a scene appear to converge

in the image, they are perceived as vanishing in the distance

5) Shading & Shadows – the configuration if shading and shadows prespective Shading and Shadow
provides information about an objects depth
 Binocular Cues Perceived Motion
• We need both of our • Stroboscopic effect

s
eyes to use these cues.

ce

ce
(flip book effect)

en

en
ci

ci
• Retinal Disparity (as an

lS

lS
• Phi phenomenon

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
object comes closer to

IIT an ee eha

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• Autokinetic Effect
um av B

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us, the differences in
n

n
a
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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
(if people stare at a
t o Pro um

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images between our
H

H
eyes becomes greater. white spotlight in a
dark room, it
en

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• Convergence (as an
rtm

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appears to move.)
a

a
object comes closer our
ep

ep
D

D
eyes have to come
together to keep
focused on the object).

Recognition Figuring out what an object is –

Recognizing an object entails several sub-problems – This problem has shape of an object, playing a major role in the identification
process. The process is a two part system where
a) Acquire fundamental or primitive bits and pieces of information from the
environment and assemble them properly
s

es
a) In early stages the perceptual system uses information on the retina, particularly
ce

nc
en

variation in intensity to describe the object in terms of primitive components such

ie
ci

c
b) Figure out what the objects actually are
lS

lS
as lines, edges and angles.
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
Fundamental information assembly starts with the binding problem: how activity in b) In the later stages, the system compares this description to those of various
um av B

um av B
n

n
a

different parts of the brain, corresponding to different primitives such as color and categories of objects stored in visual memory and select the best match.
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
shape, are combined into coherent perception of an object.
H

H
Relations Among Feature
The Binding Problem: Pre-attentive and Attentive Process
There is more to a description of a shape than just its features: The relations among
en

en
Feature Integration Theory - states that information from the visual world is pre- features must also be specified.
tm

tm
ar

ar

attentively encoded along separate dimensions – (shape & color are encoded
ep

ep

separately) – and then integrated in a subsequent attentive processing stage. The

D

theory was proposed by Anne Treisman.

the general idea is that in a first pre-attentive stage primitive features
qualities such as shape & color are perceived and in the second attentive stage
focused attention properly “glues” the feature to form integrated wholes

Later stage of Recognition Network

Models Recognizing natural objects and Top-Down Processing
Features of Natural Objects – it has been suggested that features of objects
Simple Networks – Most research on the matching stage include a number of geometric forms, such as arcs, cylinders, cones, blocks
has used simple patterns, specifically handwritten or and wedges. These features referred to as “(Geometric Ions) geons” were
printed letters or words. The basic idea is that letters are identified by Biederman (1987). There are 36 geons that explain almost all
es

es
c

nc

described in terms of certain features, and the knowledge shapes in the physical world.
en

ie
ci

about what features goes with what letter is contained in

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap

a network of connections.
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha

Networks with Feedback – A letter is easier to perceive

um av B

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n

n
a
i

i
H N n

H N n

when it is presented as a part of a word than when it is

of rof. ma

of rof. ma
P Hu

P Hu

presented alone. This finding has led to the certain

features in the Simple Network Model.

a) A level of word is added to the simple network and

t

t
en

en
rtm

rtm

along with its excitatory and inhibitory connection that

a

go now from letters to words

ep

ep
D

b) New addition of excitatory connections that go from

words down to letters are now added. These
connections easily explain the word superiority effect.
 Bottom-Up Processing
The Importance of Context – Top down processing are driven by a person’s knowledge,
experience, attention and expectation. These processes in addition to the geons (bottom
up processing) make up for most of the perception of complex stimuli in our physical
environment.
• Also called feature

s
ce

ce
analysis.

en

en
ci

ci
lS

lS
• We use the features

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

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G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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on the object itself
um av B

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n

n
a
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
to build a
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H

H
perception.
• Takes longer that Click to see an example
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of bottom –up
top-down but is more
a

a
processing.
ep

ep
accurate.
D

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Abstraction
Top-Down Processing Abstraction – is the process of reducing the vast amount of information that comes in
from the physical world through our senses to a more manageable set of categories

• We perceive by filling
the gaps in what we
s

es
ce

nc
sense.
en

ie
ci

c
lS

lS
• I _ant ch_co_ate ic_
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

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oc

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ah nd hy

ah and hy
cr_am.
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um av B

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• Based on our
n

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experiences and
H

H
schemas.
• If you see many old men
en

en

in glasses, you are more

tm

tm
ar

ar

apt to process a picture

ep

ep
D

of an old man (even when

you may be in error).

Shape Constancy – refers to the ability of the perceptual system to main shape of objects in
Perceptual Constancies the external environment

A remarkable ability of the perceptual systems, is to maintain, Constancy, which refers to the Size Constancy – is the ability of the perceptual system to maintain the objects perceived
brain’s ability to maintain a perception of the underlying physical characteristics of an size relatively constant no matter how far away it is
object, such as shape, size or color, even when the sensory manifestation of these objects
change drastically.
es

es
c

nc
en

ie
ci

Color and Brightness constancy

lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

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oc

oc
ah nd hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha

Color constancy – is the ability of the visual system to perceive the reflectance characteristics
um av B

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– an inherent property of an object – no matter what the source wavelength.

n

n
a
i

i
H N n

H N n
of rof. ma

of rof. ma
P Hu

P Hu

Brightness constancy – refers to the fact that the perceived lightness of a particular object
changes very little, if at all, even when the intensity of the source changes dramatically.
t

t
en

en

Color and brightness constancy depends on the relations among the intensities of the light
rtm

rtm

reflected from the different objects

a

a
ep

ep
D

D
 Constancy
• Objects change in
Learning &

s
our eyes constantly

ce
en

s
as we or they

ci

ce
Conditioning

lS

en
uw s as ur
at S ap

ci
ia
move….but we are

lS
G itie K vio

oc
ah nd hy

uw s as ur
at S ap
ia
G itie K vio
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oc
ah and hy
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able to maintain
um av B

um av B
n
a

n
i
f H f. N an

i
f H f. N an
content perception

t o Pro um
t o Pro um

H
Naveen Kashyap, PhD
H

• Shape Constancy Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

en
rtm
• Size Constancy Email: [Link]@[Link]
en

a
ep
rtm

D
• Brightness
a
ep
D

Constancy

Learning & Conditioning

• Learning
– Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior that
s

s
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
occurs due to experience
ci

ci
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B
– Two basic kinds of learning
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

en P H
• Non-associative – involves learning about a single stimulus & includes
habituation and sensitisation
tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

ep
D

- habituation – is characterized by a decreased behavioral response to an

innocuous stimulus e.g., repeated sounding of horns decreases startle
response

Learning & Conditioning Classical Conditioning

- sensitization – is a learning whereby there is an
• Classical conditioning
es

es

increase in a behavioral response to an intense

nc

nc
ie

ie

– Learning process in which previously neutral stimulus becomes

c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur

stimulus e.g., horn startle is greatly enhanced before

at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy

associated with another stimulus through repeated pairing with

IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha

entering a dark alley before the horn sounds

um av B

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n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an

that stimulus
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H

• Pavlov’s experiments
Associative – more complex as it involves learning about
– Pavlov’s research involved measuring dogs’ salivation in
en

en
tm

tm

relationships among events, and includes classical

ar

ar
ep

ep

response to food and found that the dogs began to salivate

D

conditioning and instrumental conditioning when they saw food dish

 Classical Conditioning
• Unconditioned stimulus (US) – food
• Unconditioned response (UR) – salivation

es

s
ce
nc

en
ie
• Neutral stimulus (NS) – unrelated event, e.g. light on

ci
c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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um av B

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n

n
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f H f. N an

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t o Pro um

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• During conditioning, pair presentation of food with light
H

H
• After number pairings, dog will salivate when light on
en

en
rtm

rtm
a

a
ep

ep
D

D
• Conditioned stimulus (CS) – light
• Conditioned response (CR) – salivation

Classical Conditioning: Basic Principles Classical Conditioning: Basic Principles

Acquisition: The course of Classical Conditioning Forward Conditioning – presentation of the conditioned stimulus
always precedes the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus
s

s
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
ci

ci
Acquisition – the process of pairing conditioned stimulus with - Delay Conditioning – is a form of forward conditioning in
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
which the onset of the unconditional stimulus (UCS) begins
IIT an ee eha

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conditioned response – proceeds quite rapidly at first, increasing as
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
the number of pairing between CS and UCS increases. However while the conditional stimulus (CS) is still present
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

en P H
after a while the acquisition slows down.
- Trace Conditioning – form of forward conditioning in
tm

tm
ar

ar

Beside acquisition conditioning is also affected by temporal which the onset of the CS precedes the UCS and the
ep

ep
D

arrangement of the CS-UCS pairings. Some possible temporal presentation of the CS and UCS does not overlap
pairings are presented below

Classical Conditioning: Basic Principles

Simultaneous Conditioning – form of conditioning in which the
conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
es

es
nc

nc
ie

ie
c

begin and end at the same time

lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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um av B

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n

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i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an

Backward Conditioning – type of conditioning in which the

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H

presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) precedes the

presentation of the conditioned stimulus
en

en
tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

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D

Several additional factors also appear to affect conditioning.

 Classical Conditioning: Basic Principles Classical Conditioning: Basic Principles
Extinction: Once conditioning is acquired how to get rid of it?
Conditioning is faster when the intensity of either the conditioned

es

s
(CS) or unconditioned stimulus (UCS) increases The process through which a conditioned stimulus gradually loses the

ce
nc

en
ie

ci
c
ability to evoke conditioned response when it is no longer followed by

lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

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oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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Conditioning also depends on the time interval between the unconditioned stimulus id termed extinction.
um av B

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n

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i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
presentations of the two stimuli. Extremely short intervals - > 0.2
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

H
seconds – rarely produce conditioning Reconditioning is the rapid recovery of a conditioned response (CR) to
a CS-UCS pairing following extinction.
en

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rtm

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Familiarity can greatly affect conditioning
a

a
ep

ep
D

D
Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance of a weakened
conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus after an interval of
time following extinction

Classical Conditioning: Basic Principles Classical Conditioning: Exception to Rules

• Biological constraints
– To some extent animals are “pre-programmed” to learn
s

s
Generalization and Discrimination: Responding to similarities and
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
particular things in particular ways
ci

ci
differences
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
• Learned taste aversion – bad experience with certain food
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
Stimulus Generalization – the tendency of stimuli similar to a puts a person off that particular food but this conditioning
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

en P H
conditioned stimulus to evoke conditioned response does not entirely comply with classical conditioning – taste
aversions common after just one bad experience (no repeated
tm

tm
ar

pairings), & CS-US interval usually very long (number of hours

ar
Stimulus Discrimination – the process by which organisms learn to
ep

ep
D

respond to certain stimuli but not to others rather than immediate)

Classical Conditioning: A Cognitive Perspective - Second the cognitive thesis is supported by a phenomenon known
as blocking – the fact that conditioning to one stimulus may be
Classical Conditioning involves more than simple associations. prevented by previous conditioning to another stimulus
Regular pairing of CS with UCS provides subjects with valuable
es

es

predictive information. Thus as conditioning proceeds subjects

nc

nc

- The idea that cognitive processes play a role in classical conditioning

ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur

acquire expectation that a CS will be followed by UCS.

at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio

is also supported by studies of mental imagery. The main question

oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B

addressed by this research is whether mental images of stimuli can

n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um

The idea that cognitive processes involving expectation play a role in substitute for their physical counterparts in the cognitive process.
H

classical conditioning is a thesis supported by several types of The thesis has been successfully tested.
en

en

evidence
tm

tm

- Part of the answer to the puzzle lies in the fact that mental
ar

ar
ep

ep
D

imagery makes people mentally scan an object, leading to eye

D

- First conditioning fails to occur when UCS and CS are paired in movements which indicate movements when actually scanning a
random order physical object.
 Instrumental Conditioning Instrumental Conditioning
• Instrumental conditioning • Skinner’s experiments

es

s
ce
nc

en
– Skinner’s experiments involved putting a hungry animal in box

ie

ci
c
–Involves learning the relationship between responses and

lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
which is bare except for a bar with food dish under. Animal’s

IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
their outcomes
um av B

um av B
n

n
initial rate of pressing bar through exploration = baseline level

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
–Thorndike carried out experiments where animals
H

H
– Acquisition & extinction – after the baseline is established,
engaged in trial-and-error learning where behavior each time the bar is pressed food is released which results in
en

en
rtm

rtm
strengthened if immediately followed by reward (law of
a

a
frequent pressing of the bar. If food stops being released then
ep

ep
D

D
effect) similar extinction of response, as in classical conditioning.
s

s
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
ci

ci
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

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Negative Reinforcement – involves the impact of negative reinforces

The Nature of Operant Conditioning – stimuli that strengthens responses that permit an organism to
In operational conditioning, the probability that a given behavior will avoid or escape from their preferences.
occur changes depending on the consequences that follow it. These
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probabilities are determined through four basis procedures, two of Punishment – refers to procedures that weaken or decrease the rate
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of behavior. They are of two classes

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which strengthen / increase (Reinforcements) and two which

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weaken / decrease (Punishment) the rate of behavior.

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Positive Punishment – behaviors are followed by aversive

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Reinforcements – the application or removal of a stimuli to increase stimulus events termed punishers
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the strength of a specific behavior. They are of two classes

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Positive Reinforcement – involves the impact of positive Negative Punisher – the rate of behavior is weakened or
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reinforces - stimulus events or consequences that strengthen decreased because the behavior is linked to the loss of potential
responses that precede them. reinforcement
 Instrumental Conditioning

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Instrumental Conditioning: Basic Principles Shaping – is a technique in which closer and closer approximations to
In operant conditioning, organisms learn associations between desired behavior are required for the delivery of positive
particular behaviors and the consequences that follow them. In reinforcement. The organism undergoing shaping receives a reward
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order to understand this form of learning two issues need to be for each small step toward a final goal – the target response – rather
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addressed – than only for the final response.
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- why are certain behaviors emitted in the first place Chaining – is a procedure that establishes a sequence of responses,
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- once emitted what factors determine the frequency with which lead to a reward following the final response in the chain.
which they occur Training circus animals requires trainers to establish a sequence, or
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chain, of responses, the last of which leads to a reward

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Shaping and Channing: Getting behaviors started and then putting it

all together

Instrumental Conditioning: Basic Principles But the effectiveness of reward can be dramatically affected by
• Biological constraints reward delay. The effects of reward delay can lead to
– As with classical conditioning, biology imposes constraints on
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- Impulsiveness – the tendency to often choose smaller

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what may be learned through instrumental conditioning –

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organisms find it easier and faster to learn response if the

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wait to receive.
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behavior required makes sense on an ethological level

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- Procrastination – thee tendency to put off until tomorrow

The Role of Reward Delay in Impulsiveness and Procrastination. what we should do today. The decision facing procrastinators is
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whether to perform a small less effortful task now or a larger more

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Operant conditioning usually proceeds faster as the magnitude of effortful task later on
reward that follows each response increases.
 Instrumental Conditioning: Basic Principles Variable Interval Schedule – a schedule of reinforcement in which a
variable amount of time must elapse before a response will yield
Schedules of Reinforcement: Different rules for the delivery of
reinforcement
payoffs

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Fixed Ratio Schedule – a schedule of reinforcement in which

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Continuous Reinforcement Schedule – a schedule of reinforcement in

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reinforcement occurs only after a fixed number of responses have
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which every occurrence of a particular behavior is reinforced

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been emitted
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Fixed Interval Schedule – a schedule of reinforcement in which a
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Variable Ration Schedule – a schedule of reinforcement in which
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specific interval of time must elapse before a response will yield
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reinforcement is delivered after a variable number of responses have
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reinforcement
been performed

Instrumental Conditioning: Basic Principles

Concurrent Schedules of Reinforcement and the Matching Law
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Concurrent schedule of reinforcement – is a situation in which two or
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more behaviors, each having its own reinforcement schedules, are
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simultaneously available. This type of schedule has been used to
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study choice behavior in both animals and humans.
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Matching Law – states that the rate of response will match the rate
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of reinforcement each alternative behavior produces. In other words

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A rat will distribute its behavior between alternatives in such a way

as to maximize the reinforcement it receives for its efforts.

Instrumental Conditioning: Cognitive

Stimulus Control of Behavior: Signals about the usefulness (or Perspective
uselessness) of responses
Do Cognitive Factors influence Instrumental Conditioning?
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People and other animals readily learn to pay attention to cues in the
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Several Evidences seem to support the role of cognition in

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environment that reliably signal certain consequences for their

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Instrumental conditioning –
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actions. Overtime people learn to make responses only in the

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presence of these signals – Discriminative Stimulus – stimulus that

signals the availability of reinforcement if a specific response is made. Learned Helplessness – is the lasting effect produced by exposure to
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situations in which nothing an organism does work – no response

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In short their behavior comes under Stimulus Control – consistent

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yields reinforcement or provides escape from negative events.

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occurrence of a behavior in the presence of a discriminative stimulus

 Instrumental Conditioning: Cognitive
- Research suggests that learned helplessness stems partly Perspective
from our perceptions of control; when we began to believe Evidence that it’s all relative: The Contrast Effect

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that we have no control over our environment or our lives,

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- Behavior is influenced not only by the level of rewards we receive

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we stop trying to improve out situation.

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by our evaluation of rewards relative to our experiences with
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previous rewards.

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- In addition genetic factors like the inherited impairment in
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the ability to experience pleasure – hypohedonia – can also - Shifts in the amount of reward we receive can dramatically
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lead to learned helplessness influence performance, a temporary behavior shift termed as
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contrast effect. This can be of two types –
- Positive
- Negative

Observational Learning
Observational Learning – is the acquisition of new forms of behavior,
- The existence of contrast effect indicates that level of reward information or concepts through exposure to others and the
alone cannot always explain our behavior and that experiences
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consequences they experience.
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with a previous level of reward - and consequent expectancies –
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can dramatically effect our performance
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Tolman’s Cognitive Map
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Observational Learning: Basic

Principles
What factors and conditions, determine whether and to what
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extent, we acquire behavior, information and concepts from others?

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Bandura (1986) suggests ……….

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First, in order to learn through observation the attention must

be directed to appropriate models (i.e., the person performing the
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activity)
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Second, what the model does and says must be remembered.

Third the memory representations formed (at 2) must be
converted into actions. This aspect of observational learning is
termed as production processes and depends on –

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- Physical ability

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- Capacity to monitor performance & adjust it till it
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matches the original
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Finally, motivation plays a decisive role in observational
learning

Observational Learning: Basic

Principles

Memory
Observational Learning and Aggression
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A large body of research indicates that aggression may indeed
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be learned through aggression. Apparently, when children and
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adults are exposed to new ways of aggressing against others –
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Naveen Kashyap, PhD
techniques they have not previously seen – they may add these
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
new behaviors to their repertoire.
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Email: [Link]@[Link]
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Observational Learning and Culture

Memory Memory
Memory - is the cognitive system (s) for storing and retrieving
information.
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Herman Ebbinghaus – German Psychologist (1885) who conducted

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the earliest work on human memory. Some of this work hold

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significance till today.

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- memorizing and recalling nonsense syllables

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- compared massed vs distributed practice

 Human Memory: Two
Influential View
Psychologists often construct models for studying mental processes.

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Models meet two major goals – accurate description & explanation

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of how the processes work. Psychologists have proposed two

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influential models of human memory. They are discusses below
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The Atkinson and Shriffrin Model
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This model of memory is akin to memory system in computers. The
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model is also called as modal model / information processing model

Human Memory: Two Influential View

The researchers proposed three basic tasks of memory
Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed three distinct systems for storing
information.
- Encoding – the process through which information is
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converted into a form that can be entered into memory
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- Sensory Memory – a memory system that retains
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representations of sensory input for brief periods of time
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- Storage – the process through which information is
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retained in memory for varying periods of time - Short Term Memory – holds relatively small amounts of
information for brief periods of time usually thirty seconds or less
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- Retrieval – locating and accessing specific information

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- Long Term Memory – allow us to retain vast amounts of

when it is needed at later times information for very long periods of time

How does information move from one memory system to

another? – Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed - this involves the
operation of active control processes that act as filters,
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determining which information will be retained.

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Two basic ideas of the model supported by research findings

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are
- the suggestion the memory involves encoding, storage
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& retrieval
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- that we posses different kinds of memory systems.

Human Memory: Two Influential View So when we encounter a string of letters such as pen, these
Neural Networks Model: Parallel Processing of Information neurons are activated in parallel – at the same time.

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Neural network models suggest that it is the rich

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Neural Network Model – Models of memory that describe parallel

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(simultaneous) processing of information by numerous neural

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modules in the brain; each of these processing units is dedicated
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ability to process information so quickly. These models also

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to a specific task, and all are interconnected. propose that information in memory is not located in a
specific place within the brain; rather it is represented by
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McClelland & Rumelhart, 1981 – suggests that humans possesses
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patterns of activation that spread over many processing units
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processors for 26 different letters, 16 letter features and more
and by the strengths of the activation across these various
than 1000 words.
units.

Kinds of Information Stored in memory

Human memory is capable of holding variety of information.
Starting with factual to general knowledge, action and also future
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intent the list of information type is huge. Does this mean we have
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separate memory systems or a single system involved in
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processing?
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Working Memory – the workbench of consciousness
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Initially working memory was confused with short term memory –

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refers to the temporary storage of limited information for very

short duration.

Working memory – involves both storage capacity and the capacity

to transform (process) information held in the memory system. In a
sense, working memory is the workbench of consciousness – the
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“place” where information we are using right now is held and

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processed.
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Early Research on Working Memory – to answer questions on the

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existence and storage capacity of working memory the serial position

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curve – the greater accuracy of recall of words / other information

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early and later, in a list of information than in the middle of the list –
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has been effectively used.

 Kinds of Information Stored in
Mediated by different brain structures – phonological
memory loop by the left hemisphere & visual-spatial sketchpad
The Multiple Component Model of Working Memory by the right

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• Current conceptions of working memory

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Two systems controlled by the executive – directs
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–Working memory conceptualized as being divided into:
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attention & decides what operations performed on
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• Phonological loop – for storing & operating on the information
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information in an acoustic code
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• Visual-spatial sketchpad – holds & operates Additional component – episodic buffer which binds
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visual/spatial information s or associates different aspects of a memory

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Working Memory Working Memory

• Storage • Working memory and thought
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–Capacity of working memory limited – for the – When consciously problem-solving, we often use working
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phonological loop, memory span is seven items, give or memory to store parts of the problem as well as relevant
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take two (7 ± 2) information accessed from long-term memory

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–Chunking – can use long-term memory to perform • Transfer from working memory to long-term memory
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chunking – recoding new material into larger, more – Rehearsal – process of conscious repetition of information
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which maintains an item in working memory (maintenance

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meaningful units & storing those in working memory

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–Forgetting – occurs either because the items “decay” rehearsal) but can also cause it to be transferred to long-
over time or are displaced by new items term memory (elaborative rehearsal)
 Memory for Factual Information – Episodic Memory – some factors
Episodic & Semantic Memory that affect it
Memory for factual information is sometimes termed as explicit or

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a) The amount and spacing of practice

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declarative memory, because we can bring it into consciousness and

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report it verbally. They are of two major types

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- Episodic memory – holds information we acquire at a specific b) The kind of processing we perform
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time and place. It is the kind of memory that allows you to go back
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in time and to remember specific thoughts and experiences you had - Maintenance Rehearsal
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in the past
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- Semantic memory – holds information of a more general - Elaborate Rehearsal
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nature, information we do not remember acquiring at a
specific time or place

c) Retrieval Cues – stimuli that are associated with

information stored in memory and so can help bring the
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information to mind at times when it cannot be recalled
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spontaneously
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- Context – dependent retrieval
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- State dependent retrieval

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Semantic Memory – Information

State dependent effects Organization
Semantic Memory – memory of general knowledge – stores
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Drunk during Recall better Than if sober

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a large amount of information in highly organized structure.

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learning if drunk
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Organization in semantic memory uses elements like

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t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

Concept – mental categories for objects or events that

en

en

are similar to one another in certain way. Concepts in

tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

ep

semantic memory seem to exist in networks reflecting the

D

relationship between them – semantic networks.

The meaning of concepts reflects its links or associations
with other adjoining concepts.

es

s
ce
nc

en
Concepts are derived from

ie

ci
c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B
n

n
Prototypes – abstract, idealized representations that

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

H
capture an average or typical notation of members of the
category
en

en
rtm

rtm
a

a
ep

ep
D

D
Exemplar – an example of the category that the
individual can readily bring to mind

Memory for Skills – Procedural Memory Forgetting

Memory systems that retains information we cannot readily Memory is mostly appreciated when it fails i.e. when
forgetting occurs. Earliest views on forgetting suggest –
s

s
express verbally – for example, information necessary to
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
ci

ci
perform skilled motor activities such as riding a bicycle. It is also information in long term memory fades or decays with the
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
called Implicit memory. passage of time causing forgetting. However research on
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
forgetting suggests that forgetting is not only a function of
en P H

en P H
Support for the existence of procedural memory comes from time but also depends of the intervening events between
the phenomenon of priming – the fact that having seen or learning and re-testing
tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

ep

heard a stimulus once may facilitate our recognizing it on a later

D

occasion, even if we are unaware that this is happening.

Forgetting as a Result of Interference

Forgetting can be caused by interference between items of

es

es
nc

nc

information stored in memory. Such interference can be

ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B

- Retroactive – information currently being learned

n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

interferes with information already present in memory

en

en
tm

tm
ar

ar

- Proactive – previously learned information present in

ep

ep
D

long term memory interferes with information currently

being learnt.
 Forgetting Memory Distortion and
Forgetting and Retrieval Inhibition Memory Construction
Information entered into memory is often altered in various

es

s
ce
nc
Imagine a task which requires you to name all the states in India.

en
ie
ways over time – and those alteration can reduce its accuracy

ci
c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
How many could you report correctly? Would it help if you are

at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy
and change its meaning. These can be of two types

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
provided with the name of half of the states and required to recall
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
the other half?
H

H
- Distortions – alterations in what is retained and later
recalled
en

en
- the act of retrieval itself can cause forgetting – not of the
rtm

rtm
a

a
ep

ep
information recalled, but of other related information. This
D

D
phenomenon is known as retrieval inhibition – and its occurrences - Constructions – the additions of information not
has been observed in serial experiments. initially present.

Distortions and the Influence of Schemas Memory Distortion and

Memory Construction
Distortions in memory can occur in response to false or A final way of memory distortion involves confusions
s

s
e

e
misleading information provided by others. The cause of such
nc

nc
concerning the sources of information in memory. We often
e

e
ci

ci
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
distortions in many cases seem to involve operation of
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
make errors in source monitoring – the process of identifying
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
schemas – structures representing individuals knowledge and
um av B

um av B
n

the origins of specific memories.

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
assumptions about aspects of the world.
en P H

en P H
A related effect involves reality monitoring – the process of
tm

tm
Another important cause of distortion in memory involves deciding whether memories stem from external sources (events
ar

ar
ep

ep
D

our motives: we often distort our memories in order to bring we actually experience) or from internal sources (our
them in line with whatever goals we are currently seeking. imagination or thoughts).

Memory Construction: Remembering What did not Memory Distortion and

happen? Memory Construction
Factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony are
es

es
nc

nc

Not only can memories be distorted; they can also be

ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia

constructed. False memories are both persistent and

G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy

Suggestibility – witnesses are sometimes influenced by

IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B

convincing – people strongly believe that they are real.

n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an

leading questions and similar techniques used by attorneys

t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

or police officers.
Eyewitness Testimony: Is it as accurate as we believe?
en

en
tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

ep

Source Monitoring – attributing one’s memories to wrong

D

Eyewitness Testimony – evidence given by persons who have source

witnessed a crime – plays an important role in many trials
Illusion of out-group homogeneity – the fact that people Memory in Everyday Life
outside our own group seem more similar in appearance How does memory function in natural contexts? Three
and characteristics than people within our own group. topics of special interest are

es

s
ce
nc

en
ie

ci
c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
Enhancing eyewitness accuracy

G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
Repression of Emotionally Traumatic Events – Do people

IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
repress traumatic events of their life? Psychologists view this
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
• Cognitive Interviews – interviews that enhance the
H

H
with skepticism do to the following reasons
ability to remember crucial information accurately with
en

en
rtm

rtm
the help of multiple retrieval cues.
a

a
ep

ep
despite its widespread acceptance there is still very little
D

D
scientific evidence to support the theory of repression
• Hypnosis

Memory in Everyday Life

In some instances therapists may act in ways that lead
clients to report repressed memories even if they don’t Autobiographical Memory – Memory for information
really have them about events in our own lives fall under the category of
s

s
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
ci

ci
episodic memory. Such memories are studied using either
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
detailed questionnaires or the diary method
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
People may not have repressed memories but get
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
influenced my media reports that claim their memories to
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

en P H
be common phenomenon
Memories for Emotionally Laden Events: Flashbulb
tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

ep

People may also generate false memories for events that Memories - are vivid memories of what we were doing at
D

never happened the time of an emotion-provoking event.

They are termed “flashbulb memories” because they seem

to be preserved in autobiographical memory in
es

es
nc

nc

considerable detail, almost like a photograph

ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B

Flashbulb memories seem to be especially vivid or strong

n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

because they are triggered by events that are surprising,

distinctive, and important to the people involved. Contrary
en

en
tm

tm
ar

ar

to popular belief, they are often quite inaccurate.

ep

ep
D

D
 Language and Communication
• Language is our primary means of communicating
Language and Thought

es

s
ce
nc

en
thought

ie

ci
c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
• Levels of language – production & comprehension

oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B
n

n
– Production of language: begins with thought, which is

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

H
Naveen Kashyap, PhD translated into a sentence, and ends with sounds
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati expressing that sentence
en

en
rtm

rtm
Email: [Link]@[Link]
a

a
– Comprehension of language: begins by hearing
ep

ep
D

D
sounds, attaching meaning to sounds (words), & attach
meaning to combinations of words (a sentence).

Language and Communication Language and Communication

• Language units and processes Word units
s

s
When listening, we perceive not phonemes but words.
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
– Language structured at three levels
ci

ci
lS

lS
Morphemes are small linguistic units which carry
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
meaning
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
– Speech sounds
en P H

en P H
•Speech is a sequence of phonemes (shortest segment Most morphemes are words
tm

tm
of speech that carries meaning) when phonemes are
ar

ar
ep

ep
D

combined in right way we perceive them as words Grammatical morphemes: words that make sentences
grammatical processed differently to content words

Language and Communication Language and Communication

• ...Language units and processes Syntactic analysis: when listening, we divide

es

es
nc

nc
ie

ie

–Sentence units sentences into nouns phrases, verb phrases etc.,

c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy

then extract proposition from phrases

IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha

•Correspond to parts of a thought (proposition)

um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um

and allow listener to “extract” propositions from

H

sentences Syntax deals with relationship between words in

en

en
tm

tm

phrases & sentences

ar

ar

•Proposition can be divided into subject &

ep

ep
D

predicate (description)
 Language and Communication Language and Communication
• Effects of context on comprehension & production
• The neural basis for language

es

s
ce
– Two regions of the left hemisphere critical for language

nc

en
ie

ci
c
lS

lS
– Broca’s area (in the posterior part of frontal lobes) &

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
Wernicke’s area (in the temporal region)
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
Insert Figure 9.3
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
– Damage to either of these areas leads to specific kinds
H

H
of aphasia (breakdown in language)
en

en
rtm

rtm
• Broca’s aphasia: disruption at syntactic stage
a

a
ep

ep
D

D
– Context is important in comprehension & production for
• Wernicke’s aphasia: disruption at level of words &
setting the scene & giving insight into a speaker’s
intentions concepts

The Development of Language The Development of Language

• What is acquired?
Words & concepts
s

s
e

e
nc

nc
– Phonemes & combinations of phonemes
e

e
ci

ci
When children start to speak (around 1 year), first use
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
•Children discriminate among different sounds that
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
words that relate to familiar concepts, e.g. family,
um av B

um av B
n

n
correspond to different phonemes
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
animals, etc.
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

en P H
–during first year children learn which phonemes Around 1½ years children use around 25 words, by 6
are relevant (for their language) years children use around 15,000 words
tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

ep
D

–over next few years learn how to combine them

The Development of Language The Development of Language

• ...What is acquired? Learning processes
es

es

Imitation & conditioning

nc

nc
ie

ie

– From primitive to complex sentences

c

c
lS

lS

Possibilities that children learn by imitating adults

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha

•Between age 1½ –2½ children acquire sentence (imitation) or by being rewarded for producing
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an

units – starts with combining single words into two-

t o Pro um

t o Pro um

sentences correctly & punished for mistakes

H

word utterances & rapidly progress to more (conditioning)

en

en

complex sentences to express propositions more

tm

tm

Problem with these possibilities is that they focus on

ar

ar
ep

ep

clearly
D

specific utterances
 The Development of Language The Development of Language
• ...Learning processes • Innate factors

es

s
– The richness of innate knowledge

ce
nc
– Hypothesis testing

en
ie

ci
c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
•One indication of this richness – children in all

ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
•Children appear to form a hypothesis about a rule of

IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B
cultures seem to go through similar processes in
n

n
language, test it, and retain it if it works

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
acquiring language
H

H
•Hypotheses are generated according to a few
– Critical periods
en

en
operating principles, e.g., paying attention to word
rtm

rtm
a

a
ep

ep
endings, looking for prefixes & suffixes that indicate •First months of life are a critical period for learning
D

D
change in meaning, avoid exceptions etc. phonemes for native language. It is harder to learn
sound system for a second language later in life

Concepts & Categorization: The Building

Indirect evidence for critical period for language
acquisition from children who experienced social Blocks of Thought
• Thought
isolation
s

s
e

e
– “Language of the mind” – two modes: propositional thought
nc

nc
e

e
ci

ci
lS

lS
(expresses proposition/claim) & imaginal thought (relates to
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
Critical period for learning syntax (studies of deaf
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
images that we “see” in our mind)
um av B

um av B
people)
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
• Functions of concepts
en P H

en P H
– Concept: represents entire class with set of properties – divides
Can another species learn human language?
tm

tm
world into manageable units
ar

ar

Other species have communication systems but most

ep

ep
D

– Categorization: assigning an object to a concept

argue these are qualitatively different from our
– Predictive power: concepts allow us to predict information not
language system
readily perceived

Concepts & Categorization: The Building Concepts & Categorization: The Building
Blocks of Thought Blocks of Thought
Core properties are used to determine membership of well-
• Prototypes
es

es
nc

nc

defined category (e.g. parent), while prototype properties

ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS

– Two sets of properties related to concept

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia

used to determine membership of fuzzy concepts (e.g. dog)

G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B

•Prototype: best examples of concept

n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um

Universality of prototypes formation

H

•Core: most important properties for being member

of concept For some concepts, such as “parent,” the prototype is
en

en
tm

tm

heavily influenced by culture

ar

ar
ep

ep
D

For other concepts, such as colors, prototypes appear

universal
 Concepts & Categorization: The Building Concepts & Categorization: The Building
Blocks of Thought Blocks of Thought
• Hierarchies of concepts
• Different categorization processes

es

s
ce
nc

en
ie

ci
c
lS

lS
– For well-defined concepts, use rule-based categories

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
– For fuzzy concepts, rely on similarity (similarity to
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
prototypes & similarity to stored exemplars)
H

H
Insert Figure 9.4

• Acquiring concepts
en

en
rtm

rtm
a

a
ep

ep
– Learning prototypes & cores
D

D
Concepts & Categorization: The Building Concepts & Categorization: The Building
Blocks of Thought Blocks of Thought
Can learn about concept in different ways – either
s

s
e

e
• The neural basis of concepts & categorization
nc

nc
explicitly taught something about concept or learn
e

e
ci

ci
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
through experience – Different neural regions may mediate different kinds
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B
of concepts and categorization
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

en P H
Learning through experience •Within the fuzzy concepts, research suggests the
Use exemplar strategy: compares to stored exemplars, brain stores animal concepts and concepts of
tm

tm
ar

ar

or
ep

ep

artifacts differently.
D

hypothesis testing: common properties characterize a

concept

e.g., perceptual regions may be more involved in Reasoning

representing animals from artifacts while functional
• Deductive reasoning
and motor regions play larger role in representing
es

es

– Logical rules
nc

nc

artifacts from animals

ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap

•Deductive validity: for logicians, it is impossible for

ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B

Neural differences between categorization based on conclusion of the argument to be false if its premises
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um

are true
H

prototypes and categorization based on stored

exemplars •Best evidence that people use such rules is that the
en

en
tm

tm
ar

ar

Also, rule-based categorization relies on different number of rules argument requires, indicator of
ep

ep
D

neural processes than categorization based on argument’s difficulty

similarity
 Reasoning Reasoning
Effects of content

es

s
ce
nc
Ability to evaluate a deductive argument often

en
ie

ci
c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
depends on content of propositions as well as logical

ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
rules
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
Sometimes we use rules that are less abstract and
H

H
more relevant in everyday problems – pragmatic
en

en
rtm

rtm
rules; or we can problem-solve by creating mental
a

a
ep

ep
D

D
model

Reasoning Reasoning
• Inductive reasoning
– Logical rules Heuristics
s

s
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
Heuristic: short-cut procedure that is relatively easy
ci

ci
lS

lS
•Argument can be good even if not deductively valid
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
to apply & can often lead to the right answer but not
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
–inductively strong arguments are where it is improbable
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
inevitably
t o ro um

t o ro um
that a conclusion is false if its premises are true
en P H

en P H
•Rules of probability include base-rate rule & conjunction
rule Different heuristics include: similarity heuristic,
tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

ep

causality heuristic, availability heuristic,

D

representativeness heuristic

Reasoning Imaginal Thought

• Imaginal thought
• The neural basis for reasoning – Thoughts that are manifested in images involve same
es

es
nc

nc
ie

ie
c

representations and processes used in perception

lS

lS

– Research supports distinction between deductive and

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha

inductive reasoning – Imaginal thought relies on analogical representations while

um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an

propositional thought relies on symbolic representations

t o Pro um

t o Pro um

•Different parts of the brain were activated when

H

• Imaginal operations
people evaluated deductive validity compared to
en

en

– Mental operations performed on images analogous to those

tm

tm

inductive strength
ar

ar
ep

ep

carried out on real visual objects, e.g. mental rotation and

D

scanning an object/array
 Imaginal Thought Imaginal Thought

• The neural basis of imagery

es

s
ce
nc

en
ie
– Both imagery and perception are mediated by the

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ah and hy

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same brain structures

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•Imagery is like perception with both activating the
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Insert Figure 9.7
visual cortex – when neural activations are directly
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compared, there is more activation in an imagery
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task than a perception task, presumably because an
imagery task needs more “perceptual work”

Thought in Action: Problem Solving Thought in Action: Problem Solving

• Problem solving • ...Problem solving strategies
– In problem solving there is an initial state & a goal – Means-end analysis
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state
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•Find key difference between current state & goal
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– Need to break problem down into sub-goals that can state & then eliminating that difference is the main
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be more easily obtained sub-goal
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• Problem solving strategies – Working backward
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– Difference-reduction method •Working backward involves reasoning from the goal

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•Reduce the difference between our current state in to a subgoal, from that one to another subgoal etc.
the problem & the goal state until finding subgoal we can readily obtain

Thought in Action: Problem Solving Thought in Action: Problem Solving

• Expert versus novice
...Problem solving strategies
– Experts in domain solve problems qualitatively differently than
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novices do
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Representing the problem

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– Differ in following ways:

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Visual representation is better for some problems,

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•Experts have more specific representations in memory to use

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propositional representation better for others

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What is represented is also key – functional fixedness •Experts represent novel situations in terms of solution
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principles rather than surface features

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Restructuring a problem can help as can finding an

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•Experts form a plan first before taking action

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appropriate analogy
•Experts tend to work in a forward direction, from the
problem to the solution
 Thought in Action: Problem Solving

Intelligence
• Automaticity

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– Automatic processes can be carried out without

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conscious control

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– much of our thinking processes become automatic

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Naveen Kashyap, PhD
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with experience, e.g. reading Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
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Email: [Link]@[Link]
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Intelligence Nature of Intelligence
Intelligence, like love, is one of those concepts that are easier to
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recognize than to define. Some reasons why intelligence cannot
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be defined with certainty are
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ah and hy

ah and hy
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- Defining intelligence is difficult as there are many different
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definitions
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- Some see intelligence as a label for what intelligence tests

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“The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies measure
but also to hate his friends.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

- Some take a broader view – that intelligence involves the

Whether intelligence is unitary or
ability to learn from experience, think in abstract terms & multifaceted?
deal effectively with one’s environment  Intelligence is a unitary characteristic or dimension along which
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people vary
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However for the purpose of clarity the definition of intelligence

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 Spearman (1927) believed that performance on any cognitive task

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should be held as the term intelligence refers to individuals

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depended on a primary general factor (g) and more or more

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ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt efficiently to the

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specific factors (s) relating to a particular task.

environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various
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tm

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forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by careful thought  Spearman’s finding stem from the fact that most intelligence tests
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-------Neisser [Link]., 1996 although measure different items, they have high correlation
among themselves. This suggests the presence of a single primary
factor
 Theories of Intelligence
Intelligence is composed of separate abilities that operate • Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
more or less independently.

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– Mental processes underlie intelligent behaviour

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– Seven distinct types of intelligence that are independent & each

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According to the multifaceted view, can be high on some

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operate separate module in brain
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components of intelligence but low on others.
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1. linguistic intelligence, 5. bodily-kinesthetic intelligence,
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2. musical intelligence, 6. Intrapersonal intelligence
Thurston (1938) suggests that intelligence is composed of
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3. logical-mathematical intelligence,
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seven distinct primary mental abilities like verbal meaning,
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4. spatial intelligence, 7. Interpersonal intelligence
number and space.

Theories of Intelligence

• Anderson’s theory of intelligence & cognitive development

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– Differences in intelligence result from differences in the “basic
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processing mechanism” that implements thinking, which in turn
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yields knowledge
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• Two different “routes” to knowledge – first involving basic
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processing mechanism, which operates through specific
processers, to acquire knowledge. Second route involves use
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of modules to acquire knowledge which comes automatically if

D

module has matured enough

Theories of Intelligence
Contextual sub-theory – people high on this
• Sternberg’s triarchic theory dimension are intelligent in a practical, adaptive sense
– they have what many would call “street smart” and
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–Theory has three sub-theories

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adapt to solve everyday problems

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• Componential sub-theory – involves the abilities to

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Most highly developed is componential sub-theory

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think critically and analytically which includes meta-components, performance

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components & knowledge-acquisition components

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• Experiential sub-theory – emphasizes insight and the

ability to formulate new ideas (Einstein / Newton)
 Theories of Intelligence
Cattell’s Theory of Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence
• This theory is based on the statistical technique of factor

es

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analysis.

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• Cattell (1963) concluded that two major clusters of mental

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abilities exist fluid & crystallized intelligence

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• Fluid intelligence – refers to our largely inherited abilities
to think and reason – in a sense the hardware of our
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brains that determines the limits of our information
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processing capabilities

Theories of Intelligence
• Crystallized intelligence – refers to accumulated • Ceci’s bioecological theory
knowledge – information we store over a life time of
–Everyday intellectual performance cannot only be
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experience, plus the application of skills and
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explained by IQ or biological notions of general
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knowledge to solving specific problems
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ah and hy
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intelligence
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–Rather, intellectual performance depends on
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• The speed with which one can analyze information is
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an example of fluid and the breadth of one’s interaction between multiple cognitive potentials with
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a rich, well-organized knowledge base
ar

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vocabulary, of crystallized intelligence

ep

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–This highlights impact of environment on IQ – more

environmental risks child exposed to – lower the IQ

Assessment of Intellectual Abilities • Assessed by correlating two sets of scores

• Intelligent tests • Test-retest reliability – person takes test twice – scores

correlate
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–Key that they measure what they intend to measure

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• Alternative form reliability – two forms of same test

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correlate highly
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• Reliability
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–A test with good reliability will yield reproducible & • Internal consistency – test items correlate highly with each
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consistent results
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other
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• Interjudge reliability – ratings of judges correlate highly

 Assessment of Intellectual Abilities
• Validity
– A test with good validity is one that measures what it’s meant

es

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to measure

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• Criterion/empirical validity – correlating test score with
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some external criterion can assess validity
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• Criterion problem in assessment – where there is no
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“truth” against which to validate the test
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• Construct validity – where test scores correlate with the
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predicted outcomes of the theory underlying the research

Measuring Intelligence IQ stand for intelligence quotient and a quotient is precisely

The first attempt to measure intelligence was made by Alfred Binet the scores
& Theodore Simon on request by the Paris School Board. IQ = Mental Age / Chronological Age * 100
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Binet & Simon decided to use items of two basic types – There is one problem with the IQ score – at some point
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- so unusual that none of the children have prior exposure to mental growth levels off or stops, while chronological age
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them continues to grow. As a result the IQ scores begin to decline
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- so familiar that almost all youngsters would have after age 13!!!
encountered them
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IQ: its meaning then and now Today IQ simply reflect an individual’s performance relative
to that of persons of the same age who have taken the test.

Measuring Intelligence
Binet and Simon’s intelligence test has one major
drawback:
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All contents of the test was verbal. To overcome this problem

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David Weschsler devised a set of tests for both children and

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adults that include nonverbal, or performance, items as well

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as verbal ones, and that yield separate scores for these two
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components on intelligence.
 The Cognitive Basis of Intelligence:
Processing Speed
This viewpoint suggests that being intelligent involves being able to

es

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process information quickly. This has led to two major developments

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- new tests based on findings of cognitive psychology emerged

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- speed of processing simple perceptual & cognitive tasks
correlate with scores on intelligence tests
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- inspection time – minimum amount of time a particular
stimulus must be exposed to acquire a judgment that meets some pre-
established criterion of accuracy, is the new measure of intelligence

The Neural Basis of Intelligence: Human Intelligence: Role of Heredity and

Intelligence and Neural Efficiency Environment
Human intelligence is the result of the complex interplay between
genetic factors and a wide range of environmental conditions
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This viewpoint suggest that
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- nerve conduction velocity - the speed with which nerve
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ah and hy

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Evidence for the influence of heredity
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impulses are conducted in the visual system – correlates significantly
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with the measures of intelligence.
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- Findings with respect to family relationship and measured IQ (It
has been confirmed in experiments that the more closely two
- metabolic activity in the brain – is a direct measure of
tm

tm
persons are related the more similar theirs IQ’s)
ar

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intelligence
D

- brain structures are also linked to intelligence

Human Intelligence: Role of Heredity and

- Findings involved adopted children (IQ’ s of adopted children -Environment
Findings involving research on identical twins separated as
resemble more closely to they biological parents then the infants, who were then raised in different homes (IQ’s of twins
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es
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adopted parents) reared apart correlated highly and was similar to those twins
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reared together)
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- Findings from studies that focus on the task of identifying the

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specific genes that influence intelligence (the view argues that On the basis of these results it is estimated that the hereditability of
H

many genes each exerting relatively small effects, probably play intelligence
en

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a role in general intelligence – i.e., in what many aspects of

tm

- the proportion of the variance in intelligence within a given

tm
ar

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ep

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mental abilities [verbal, spatial etc.] have in common) population that is attributable to genetic factors – ranges from
D

about 35% in childhood to as much as 75% in adulthood and maybe

about 50% overall.
 Human Intelligence: Role of Heredity and
Evidence for the influence of environmental factors
- Environment
Another evidence for the role of environmental factors in
intelligence is provided by the findings of studies of
- Performance on IQ tests has risen substantially around the

es

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environmental deprivation and environmental enrichment.

en
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ci
world at all age levels in the recent decade. This phenomenon is

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called the Flynn effect

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(with respect to deprivation it was found that intelligence can be
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reduced by the absence of key forms of environmental stimulation
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A large number of factors are, responsible for such an effect –
early in life; as proof for enrichment, removing children from
better nutrition increased urbanization, the advent of television,
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sterile restricted environments and placing them in favorable ones
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more and better education, more cognitively demanding jobs and
a

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can increase their intelligence)
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exposure to computer games!!

Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman (1995, 1988) defines emotional intelligence as a
s

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cluster of traits or abilities relating to the emotional side of life. He
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further states that this kind of intelligence is more important for a
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happy, productive life than IQ.
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Major components of Emotional Intelligence
tm

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-Knowing our own emotions

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to the extent individuals are not aware of their own feelings they - Recognizing and influencing others emotions (the ability to read
cannot make intelligent choices others emotions and to recognize the mood )
es

es
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-Since people are not aware of their own emotions, they are
ie

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- Handling Relationships (this can be termed as interpersonal

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often low in expressiveness

at S ap

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intelligence)
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-Managing our own emotions (managing our emotions is to Evidence on the existence and effects of Emotional Intelligence
H

regulate their nature, intensity and expression

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- With respect to first of these issues evidence is mixed. All other

ar

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-Motivating ourselves (remaining optimistic, enthusiastic and

D

issues have found no stable foundations

delaying gratification till the final goal)
 Creativity: Generating the Extraordinary
- Researchers have indicated that only one component of
Goleman’s theory: emotion perception – ability to read Creativity is the ability to produce work that is novel (original,
accurately others emotions have strong evidence of intelligence unpredicted)

es

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ce
and appropriate (it works – it is useful or meets task

nc

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like effects

ie

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requirements).

at S ap

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- Is the theory useless? Research offers the view that we don’t
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have adequate methods for measuring all aspects of emotional The reason creativity was never studied extensively is that
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intelligence - No appropriate method exists that captures all aspects of
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creativity in real life situation
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- Further these components may be independent of each other. - Concept of creativity was associated in many people’s minds
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with forces outside the realm of science – for instance with
vague notions of the “creative spirit”

Contrasting views of creativity Creativity: Generating the Extraordinary

What factors produce creativity? - Social psychologists have focused on the personality traits
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and environmental conditions that encourage creative
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- Cognitive psychologists focus on the basic process that underlie thinking.
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creative thought like retrieval of information from memory,
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association, synthesis, transformation and categorical reduction
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Confluence approach of creativity – the approach suggests
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that in order to creativity to occur multiple components
- Studying creativity involves distinguishing between mundane & must converge
tm

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exceptional creativity
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- Intellectual abilities: the way to see problems in new ways

- Knowledge: enough knowledge about the field

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- Certain styles of thinking: a preference for thinking in

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novel ways
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ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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- Personality attributes: traits as willingness to take risks

H

and tolerate ambiguity

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D

- Environment that supports creativity.

 Emotion

es

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ie

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G itie K vio

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oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

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t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

H
Naveen Kashyap, PhD
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
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Emotion

Nature of Emotion Components of Emotion

Emotions are complex entities to define.
• An emotion is a complex, multi-component episode that
However most scientists studying
creates a readiness to act
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emotions agree that they involve –
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- Physiological Changes, within our
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bodies – shifts in heart rate, blood
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pressure, and so on
- Subjective Cognitive states - the
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personal experience we label emotions

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- Expressive Behaviors – outward signs of

these internal reactions

Components of Emotion
• Emotions are distinct from moods in several ways:
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–Emotions tend to have a clear cause, are typically

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brief, and implicate multiple component systems

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–In research there is much interest in the detailed

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nature of components of emotion, and the

mechanisms by which they influence each other
 Theories of Emotion
The Cannon-Bard and James-Lange theories – which comes first,
action or feelings

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Cannon-Bard theory – suggests that various emotion provoking

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events induce simultaneously, the subjective experiences we
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label as emotions and the physiological reactions that
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accompany them.
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James-Lange theory – suggests that subjective emotional
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experiences are actually the result of physiological changes
within our bodies

Theories of Emotion
Which of the two theory is a correctly explains emotion? - facial feedback hypothesis – suggests that changes in our
facial expressions produces shifts in our experienced
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emotions rather than merely reflecting them
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Until recently the Cannon-Bard hypothesis was the most
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favored theory among the two but recent research has
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- In addition research suggests that changing our bodily
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highlighted the importance of the James-Lange theory
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postures or even the tone of our voice may influence
based on evidences from
emotional experiences
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- modern equipment's verify that different emotions have

different patterns of physiological activity

Theories of Emotion
Schachter and Singer’s Two-Factor theory – Opponent process theory – the theory suggest that
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1) an emotional reaction to a stimulus is followed

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Emotion provoking events produce increased arousal.

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automatically by an opposite reaction

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In response to these feelings we then search the external

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environment in order to identify the causes behind them. 2) repeated exposure to a stimulus causes the initial
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reaction to weaken and the opponent process, or opposite

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The factors we then select play a key role in determining the reaction to strengthen
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label we place on our arousal and so in determining the

emotions we experience
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Cognitive Appraisal & Emotion Discovery of appraisals
• Cognitive appraisal
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Two-factor theory of emotions – emotions are the result of
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a combination of an initial state of unexplained arousal &
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–It is the interpretation of the personal meaning of
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cognitive appraisal for that arousal – mixed support
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current circumstances (person-environment
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relationship) that results in emotion
–Cognitive appraisal is largely responsible for Misattribution of arousal – physiological arousal can be
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erroneously attributed to subsequent event
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differentiating emotions
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Cognitive Appraisal & Emotion

• Themes & dimensions of appraisals
–People’s appraisals of situations lead to subjective
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experience of emotions, associated arousal & other

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components of emotional response

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• Minimalist appraisal theories – reduce number of

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appraisal dimensions to a minimum, often based on

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fundamental themes – emphasises importance of

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emotion-specific core relational themes (e.g.

irrevocable loss for sadness)
 Dimensional appraisal theories – identify a range of
appraisal dimensions thought sufficient for Cognitive Appraisal & Emotion
differences among emotions (e.g. desirability of
• Conscious & unconscious appraisals

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event & whether it occurs)

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–Appraisals can occur at unconscious levels – people

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experience emotion without understanding why
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–Cognitive appraisals in emotion processes similar to
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other types of cognition - resulting in part from
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automatic processing & in part from controlled
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processing

Appraisals in the brain Subjective Experiences & Emotion

Amygdala (in the lower brain) – key role in automatic • Subjective experience of emotion
appraisals which supports idea of appraisals occurring both
– This feeling component is, by definition, within awareness
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unconsciously & consciously
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– One output of the appraisal process is change in subjective
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experience
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• Feelings modify attention & learning
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– Current feelings direct attention to events that match our
feelings, as a result we learn more about those events
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– Feelings influence which memories are more accessible &

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those memories influence what is easy to learn at the

moment

Subjective Experiences & Emotion Thought & Action Tendencies & Emotion
• Feelings modify evaluations & judgements • Thought-action tendencies
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– Refers to urges – one way that feelings guide behaviour &

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– Our feelings can affect evaluations of other people, and of information processing
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inanimate objects
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• With most negative emotions, people’s thought-action

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– Feelings also affect our judgements of risk – if we are tendencies become narrow & specific
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fearful, more likely to see world as uncertain &

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uncontrollable; if feeling angry/happy, more likely to see • With most positive emotions, people’s thought-action
world as certain & controllable tendencies become broad & more open to possibilities
 Bodily Changes & Emotion
• Bodily changes & emotion
– Intense negative emotions involve physiological arousal caused

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by activation of sympathetic division of autonomic nervous

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system

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– Positive emotions have undoing effect on lingering arousal
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from negative emotions
• Intensity of emotions
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– People with spinal chord injuries (limit feedback from
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autonomic nervous system) report less intense emotions
– Visceral perception plays a role in intensity of emotions

Bodily Changes & Emotion Facial Expression & Emotion

• Differentiation of emotions • Communications of emotion through facial expressions
– James-Lange theory holds that autonomic arousal – Certain facial expressions seem to be universal in meaning,
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differentiates the emotions
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regardless of culture
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– Facial expressions of one person can change behavior of
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another (e.g. mother/child & visual cliff)
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– Certain aspects of facial expression are learned – display
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rules specify types of emotions people should express in
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certain situations and appropriate behavior for particular

emotions

Facial Expression & Emotion Responses to Emotion: Emotion Regulation

• The facial feedback hypothesis
• Emotion regulation
– Facial feedback hypothesis – the idea that facial expressions, in
– Refers to people’s responses to their own emotions
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addition to their communicative function, also contribute to

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our subjective experience of emotion

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– Sometimes people have goal of intensifying emotion while

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other times people want to minimise emotion – ability to do so

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predicts social success

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– Suppressing facial expression increases autonomic arousal &

amygdala activation, & also impairs memory
 Responses to Emotion: Emotion Regulation
• People develop different strategies to control/regulate emotions

Personality

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Naveen Kashyap, PhD
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Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
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Email: [Link]@[Link]
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Personality Personality: Definition and Existence
An individual’s unique and relatively stable patterns of behavior,
thoughts and feelings is termed as – personality
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The Question whether personality is real or fictional is an age old
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controversy. Two school of opposing views are
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a) Walter Mischel (1985) argues that people show so much
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variability across situations that we cant make any useful
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predictions about their behavior from personality. Various traits

show only modest correlation with overt behavior (02 – 0.3).

Personality: Definition and Existence

b) Personality psychologists counter the argument of Weighing all the arguments and counter arguments
Mischel by holding that people show considerable personality psychologists agree that personality is indeed real
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consistency in behaviors across situations. They believe

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and worth studying.

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even when an individual shows contrasting patterns of

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behavior in different situations, these actions may be

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Even Mischel has focused on personality styles or strategies –

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functionally equivalent for that person. These individual difference in the meaning people assign to various
psychologist cite that (0.2-0.3) correlations are situations and events. Mischel believes that individuals show
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considered high comparing to the ones between Carbon considerable consistency in this respect, such consistency in
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dioxide and Global Warming turn becomes kind of behavioral signature of their
personality
 Theories of Personality
The recent view believes that – our behavior in any given
situation is usually a complex function of both our Freud’s theory of Personality: The Psychoanalytic Approach
personality (stable internal factors that make us unique)

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Dr, Prof, Nat. rer, Sigmund Freud got first inspired for this view on

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and situational factors in the world around us.

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personality by the works of Jean-Martin Charcot and Joseph

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Breurer. His theory of personality has four levels: levels of

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This Interactionist perspective is the current view of
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consciousness, the structure of personality, anxiety & defense
personality held by most psychologist mechanism and psychosocial stages of development.
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Levels of Consciousness: Beneath the Iceberg’s Tip

Freud was a scientist and thus believed in the concepts of

thresholds in psychophysics. He believed that his psychological
theories were temporary and would be soon replace by
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biological and neural processes. He reached the startling
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conclusion that most of mind lies below the surface-below the
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threshold of conscious experience.
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Above this boundary is consciousness consisting of current
thoughts
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Beneath the conscious realm is the large preconscious containing

memories that are currently not part of our current thoughts.

Theories of Personality
The id
 Finally, beneath the preconscious, and forming the bulk of the
human mind, is the unconscious thoughts, desires and impulses
consists of all our primitive, innate urges, including
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of which we remain largely unaware. Freud believes that

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bodily needs, sexual desire and aggressive impulses.

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although some of the materials in unconscious are pre-loaded,

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most matter in unconscious were driven to it by the process of

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Id is totally unconscious and operates under the pleasure

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repression by the conscious mind

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principle.
 The Structure of Personality: Id, Ego and Superego
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Id demands immediate gratification and is not capable of

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 Freud believes that personality is a three part system considering the potential costs seeking the goal
corresponding roughly to desire, reason and conscience.
 The Ego
The Superego
- Task is to hold the id in check until conditions allow for
satisfaction of its impulses - The superego too seeks to control the satisfaction of

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id but in contrast to ego

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- The ego operates in accordance with the reality principle – it

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takes into account external conditions and the consequences
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- The superego works with morality principle – various
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of various actions and directs behavior so as to maximize
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pleasure and minimize pain ways of satisfying id impulses are right or wrong
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- The ego is partly conscious but not entirely so; its struggle - It is acquired though our parents and mostly
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with id is mostly outside our conscious knowledge / unconscious
understanding

Theories of Personality
Anxiety and Defense Mechanisms
In the eternal struggle of the Id with the Ego anxiety surfaces at the
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conscious as the sign of the struggle. If Id impulses get too strong
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for the Ego & Superego to handle the Id resorts to its last line of
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defense – the defense mechanisms
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Psychosexual Stages of Development
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According to Freud, an innate sequence of stages through which all

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human beings pass and at each stage pleasure is focused on a

different region of the body

 Oral stage – during this the pleasure is centered in the region of

the mouth
 Anal stage – pleasure is focused primarily in the anal zone
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 Phallic stage – pleasure is centered in the genital region.

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 Oedipus complex – a crisis of psychosexual development in

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which children's must give up their sexual attraction of their

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opposite-sex parent.
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 Latency stage – which follows resolution of the oedipal complex

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and the sexual desires are relatively week

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 Genital stage – one in which individuals acquire the adult

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capacity to combine lust with affection

 Theories of Personality
Critics of Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

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I. Critics have pointed out that Freud’s theory is not really a

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scientific theory

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II. Freud's findings are not consistent with modern research –
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dream significance
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III. Freud relied on small number of case studies for his theoretical
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IV. Freud’s theory has so many different concepts that they can
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explain virtually any pattern of behavior in an after-the-fact
manner

Other Psychoanalytic Views: Freud’s disciples Theories of Personality

- Two special important archetypes in Jung’s theory are known as
…… Defectors
animus – the masculine side of females and anima – the feminine
side of males.
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Carl Jung – The collective unconscious – holds experiences shared
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- Another aspect of Jung’s theory was his suggestion that we are
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by all human beings – experiences that are in a sense, part of our
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all born with innate tendencies to be primarily concerned either
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biological heritage.
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with our inner selves or with the outside world.
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- The collective unconscious finds expression in our minds in several
ways, but among these archetypes, - manifestations of collective Alfred Adler: Neo Freudian Psychoanalyst
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- He emphasized the importance of feelings of inferiority, which
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unconsciousness that express themselves when our conscious mind

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is distracted or inactive for e.g., during sleep – are most central to he believed we experience as children because of our small size
Jung’s theory and physical weakness

- He viewed personality development as stemming

primarily from our efforts to overcome such feelings
through what he termed striving for superiority
es

es

- If these efforts go too far, we may develop superiority

nc

nc
ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap

complex and become a braggart / bully.

ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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- Adler also emphasized the role of social factors in

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f H f. N an
t o Pro um

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personality for instance, he called attention to the

H

importance of birth order. He believed only children are

en

en
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tm

spoiled too much by parental attention, while firstborn’s

ar

ar
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D

are “dethroned” by second child. The second born’s are

often competitive and realist
 The Humanistic Approach The Humanistic Approach
• Humanistic approach I. Discrepancy between self & ideal self – results in anxiety
– Alternative to psychoanalytic & behavioural approaches

es

s
ce
nc

en
– Main interest is person’s subjective experiences

ie

ci
c
II. Children need to grow up with unconditional positive regard in

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uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

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G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
• Carl Rogers

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order to function effectively
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n

n
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
– Basic force motivating humans is actualising tendency – person’s
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

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motivation to enhance one’s self III. Measuring real-ideal self-congruence – using Q-sort method,
– The self
en

en
correlations between two sorts reveals degree of
rtm

rtm
a

a
ep

ep
• Ideas/perceptions/values that characterize “me”, & this incongruence between real & ideal self – can repeat Q-sorts to
D

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perceived self influences person’s perception of the world & assess effectiveness of therapy
their behavior

The Humanistic
Approach
s

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• Abraham Maslow
e

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G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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n

n
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f H f. N an
• Proposed hierarchy
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

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of needs
tm

tm
ar

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ep

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D

The Humanistic Approach The Trait Theories

• A humanistic portrait of human nature - Personality Traits – are stable dimensions of personality
along which people vary, from very low to very high. This
es

es

– Does not dispute the influence of biology & environment on

nc

nc
ie

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strong tendency to think about others in terms of specific

c

c
lS

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behavior but emphasises the individual’s own role in defining

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ia

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G itie K vio

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oc

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ah and hy

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characteristics is reflected in trait theory of personality

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& creating own destiny

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n

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f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um

• An evaluation of the humanist approach

H

- Search for Basic Trait: Allport & Cattell

– Succeeded in devising new methods for assessing self-
en

en
tm

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concepts & emphasized that they study important problems

ar

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- Allport concluded that personality traits can be divided

ep

ep
D

– Critics question quality of the evidence & criticize building

into several categories based on their importance
theories solely on relatively healthy people
 - Secondary Traits – these are least important and exert The Trait Theories
relatively weak and limited effects on behavior - Allports concept of functional autonomy – patterns of
behavior that are initially acquired under one set of

es

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ce
nc

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- Central Traits – most important and five to ten traits

ie

ci
circumstances, and which satisfy one set of motives, may

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ia

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G itie K vio

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that together account for uniqueness of individuals

oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy
later be performed for very different reasons

IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
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n

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personality.

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

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- Raymond Cattell trait theory – identifies sixteen source
- Cardinal Traits – few people are dominated by a single traits – dimensions of personality that underlie differences
en

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rtm

rtm
a

a
all-important cardinal trait (Napoleon – ambition, in many other, less important surface traits. (cool vs warm,
ep

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Florence Nightingale – empathy) easily upset vs calm and stable)

- The “Big Five” Factors – basic dimensions of personality

- Extraversion
s

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e

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ci

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lS

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- Agreeableness
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oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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n

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t o ro um

t o ro um
- Conscientiousness
en P H

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tm

tm
- Emotional Stability
ar

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ep

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D

- Openness to Experience

The Trait Theories

- Evaluation of Trait Theory
es

es
nc

nc
ie

ie

- Trait theory approach is largely descriptive in nature (it

c

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G itie K vio

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oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy

does not determine how various traits develop, how

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n

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they influence behavior and why they are important)

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en

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- Despite several decades of careful research there is still

tm

tm
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no final agreement concerning the traits that are most

D

important and most basic

 The Learning Theories The Learning Theories
- Any personality theory has to account for the uniqueness and
consistency of human behavior. Freud explained it in terms of internal Social Cognition Theory – Modern view of Personality
factors where as learning theory explains them in terms of learning and

es

s
ce
nc

en
ie
experience.

ci
- Places great emphasis of self system – the cognitive process

c
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ia

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G itie K vio

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oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy
by which a person perceives, evaluates, and regulates his or

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um av B

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- Early learning theories took extreme views and denied the importance

n
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um
her own behavior so that it is appropriate in a given situation

t o Pro um
of any internal factors (motives, traits etc.), recent theories take
H

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account of many aspects of cognition in shaping personality
- People generally don’t just respond to reinforcements but
en

en
rtm

rtm
a

a
also engage in self – reinforcement patting themselves on
ep

ep
- Uniqueness, the learning approach contends, reflects our distinctive life
D

D
experiences. Consistency is explained by the persistence of responses, their back when they achieve a goal
association and habits acquired through learning

The Learning Theories The Learning Theories

Julian Rotter – social learning theory – suggests that the likelihood
Observational learning is another important factors, which plays that a given behavior will occur in a specific situations depends on
s

s
e

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role in wide range of human activities. In essence any time humans
nc

nc
individual’s expectancies concerning the outcomes the behavior
e

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ci

ci
lS

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observe others they can learn from this experience which in turn
uw s as ur

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will produce and on the reinforcement value they attach to such
ia

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G itie K vio

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oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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shapes their own behavior outcomes – the degree to which they prefer on reinforce over
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n

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i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
another.
en P H

en P H
Another important concept of this theory is self – efficacy – an
individuals belief that he/she can perform some behavior or task Rotter terms persons who strongly believe that they can shape
tm

tm
ar

ar

successfully.
ep

ep

their own destinies internals and those who believe their outcome
D

are largely the result of forces outside their control externals

The Learning Theories

The Learning Theories
Evaluation of learning approach
es

es

Learning theories ignore the importance of inner

nc

nc
ie

ie
c

Existence of Oedipus complex or attainment of self-

lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur

conflicts and the influence of unconscious thoughts and

at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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actualization are facts with a lot of controversy. In contrast impulses on behavior.

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n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an

virtually all psychologist agree to the importance of learning

t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

in acquiring and modifying behaviors. Cognitive factors are Early learning theories did not credit cognitive factors
en

en

equally valued in shaping behaviors and in turn determining

tm

tm

for their role in shaping behavior.

ar

ar
ep

ep

personality
D

D
 Measuring Personality
• Clinical scales related to various forms of psychological
• Personality inventories disorders
– Questionnaires that assess personality by self-report of • Validity scales are designed to determine whether or to

es

s
ce
nc

en
what extent people are trying to fake their answers.

ie
reactions/feelings in certain situations

ci
c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

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oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
– Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

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um av B

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Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI)
n

n
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
• Used criterion-keyed method of test construction –
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

H
Items here are closed to MMPI’s clinical scale
items selected on basis of correlation with external
en

en
criterion
rtm

rtm
NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI)
a

a
ep

ep
• The current version contains clinical scales and
D

D
Measure aspects of personality that are not directly linked
validity scales to psychological disorders

Measuring Personality
• Projective tests
– Presents ambiguous stimulus to which a person can respond
s

s
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
as he or she wishes (resembles Freud’s free association)
ci

ci
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
– Rorschach Inkblot Test
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

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n

n
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
• 10 cards with symmetrical inkblots (5 b/w, 3 m-colour, 2
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

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b/w/r)
• Responses are scored as either pair of objects or
tm

tm
ar

ar
ep

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reflection, or movement, colour and shading of inkblots

D

• Exner (1993) system of scoring is used.

es

es
nc

nc
ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

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n

n
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

H
en

en
tm

tm
ar

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ep

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D

D
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
21 cards with card number 11 blank, each card has a
theme to which a story has to be narrated.

es

s
ce
nc

en
ie

ci
Scoring is done following Need-Press theory, Defence

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

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ia

ia
G itie K vio

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oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy
Mechanism Manual or Social Cognition and Object

IIT an ee eha

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n

n
i

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f H f. N an

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Relation
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

H
en

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Draw A Person Test (DAPT)
rtm

rtm
a

a
ep

ep
D

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Requires to draw a person & interpretation is based
on the way person is drawn

Measuring Personality
• Other measures of personality
s

s
– In addition to the self-report questionnaire and projective
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
ci

ci
lS

lS
techniques several new measures are available for
uw s as ur

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at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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measuring personality
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n

n
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
– Experience Sampling Method
en P H

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• Electronic pages are used in this method
tm

tm
• Individuals are beeped at pre-decided times and made to
ar

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ep

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D

record their behavior

• This method can reveal stable patterns of behavior

Interviews
They can be of two types: Structured & Social Influence and
Unstructured
Social Cognition
es

es
nc

nc
ie

ie
c

Responses on items can reveal aspects of

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at S ap

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ia

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G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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personality
um av B

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n

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i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um

Naveen Kashyap, PhD

H

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

Biological measures Email: [Link]@[Link]
en

en
tm

tm

PET scans and patterns of brain activity can reveal

ar

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D

personality
Hormone levels can also predict personality
 Other people are crucial part of our existence and play a Social thought – thinking about others
key role in our happiness Attribution: Understanding the causes of others behavior

es

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ce
The process through which we attempt to determine the causes

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Social psychologists have long specialized in the task of

ie

ci
c
lS

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behind others behavior is known as attribution.

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ia

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G itie K vio

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oc

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studying all aspects of social thought and social behaviour

IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

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n

n
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
Attribution is orderly process where we examine others behaviors
H

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Social thought – how and what we think about others, for clues as to the causes behind what they say and do and then
en

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Social behaviour – how we interact with other people and reach our decisions.
rtm

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a

a
ep

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Social influence – how other change our behaviour
D

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We generally consider basic information like whether others actions
Attraction and love – why we like/dislike other people stemmed from internal causes (trait) or from external causes (luck)

Social thought – thinking about others Social thought – thinking about others
Attribution: Some Sources of Bias
We focus on questions about
The correspondence bias: overestimating the role of dispositional
cues – our strong tendency to explain others actions corresponding
s

s
e

e
nc

nc
Consensus – whether other people behave in the same way as the
e

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ci

ci
to or stemming from, dispositional (internal) causes even in the
lS

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uw s as ur

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person we are considering
at S ap

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ia

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G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

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ah and hy

ah and hy
presence of clear situational (external) cues is called the
IIT an ee eha

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um av B

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n

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correspondence bias.
i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an
t o ro um

t o ro um
Consistency – whether this person behaves in the same manner over
en P H

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time
Why this bias occurs?
tm

tm
- others actions reflect their underlying characteristics
ar

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ep

ep

Distinctiveness – whether this person behaves in the same way in

D

- we then correct for any possible effect of the external world by

different situation
taking into account these characteristics
- we don’t make enough allowance for impact of external factors

Social thought – thinking about others Social thought – thinking about others
The self-serving bias – is the tendency to take credit for positive Both cognitive and motivational factors may well play a role in this
behaviors / outcomes by attributing them to internal causes but to kind of attributional error
es

es

blame negative ones on external causes beyond our control

nc

nc
ie

ie
c

c
lS

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uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia

Is self serving bias universal tendency occurring in all cultures?

G itie K vio

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oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

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Why it occurs?
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i

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f H f. N an

f H f. N an

- This bias stems from certain tendencies in the way we process

t o Pro um

t o Pro um

This bias is more common in individualistic societies which

H

social information. This happens as we expect to succeed and emphasizes individual accomplishments than in collectivistic
have a tendency to attribute expected outcomes to internal more
en

en

societies which emphasize group outcomes and harmony.

tm

tm
ar

ar

than external causes

ep

ep
D

- Self-serving bias stems from our needs to protect enhance our

self-esteem or the related desire to look good to others
Social Cognition – Processing Social Information Social Cognition – Processing Social Information
Identifying the cause behind others behavior is an important aspect Dealing with inconsistent information: Paying attention to what
of social thought doesn’t fit.

es

s
ce
nc

en
ie

ci
c
lS

lS
Social cognition involves deciding what information is most We tend to pay much more attention to information that is

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ia

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G itie K vio

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oc

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ah and hy

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IIT an ee eha

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important and so worthy of our attention. We must then be able to unexpected or somehow inconsistent with our expectations than to
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i

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f H f. N an
store and retrieve this information from long term memory at information that is expected or consistent.
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

H
appropriate times. We must also be able to manipulate this
information to make judgments about people and predict their The above tendency seems to stem from the fact that we work
en

en
rtm

rtm
a

a
future actions. These tasks help us in making sense of the social harder to understand inconsistent information because it is
ep

ep
D

D
world. unexpected and surprising. This is in turn leads to higher memories
for such information which later influences our judgments.

Social Cognition – Processing Social Information Social Cognition – Processing Social Information
The optimistic bias for task completion: We think we can do more, Another factor that may play an important role in planning fallacy is
sooner, than we really can. motivation to complete the task. When predicting what will happen
s

s
In predicting how long a given task will take, people tend to be overly
e

e
in future, individuals often guess that what will happen is what they
nc

nc
e

e
ci

ci
optimistic. They predict that they can get the job done much sooner
lS

lS
want to happen
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
than actually turns out to be the case. This tendency is often
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
um av B

um av B
n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
recognized as planning fallacy Counterfactual thinking: The effects of considering ‘what might have
t o ro um

t o ro um
en P H

en P H
been’
What leads to this common error?
tm

tm
- Individuals predicting a task completion enter a planning mode of
ar

ar

Thoughts about what might have been are known in social

ep

ep
D

thought and focuses primarily on how they will perform the task in psychology as counterfactual thinking and occur in wide range of
future, thereby not focusing on how they performed similar tasks in situations including disappointments
the past.

Social Cognition – Processing Social Information Attitudes: Evaluating the social world
Engaging in counterfactual thinking can produce a number of effects Attitudes can be defined as lasting evaluations of virtually any and
every aspect the social world – issues, ideas, persons, social groups
es

es

- Such thinking can either boost or depress current moods or objects.

nc

nc
ie

ie
c

c
lS

lS
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha

- If individual imagine better outcomes than actually occurred they Attitudes generally involve an affective component (like/dislike), a
um av B

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n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an

may experience regret, envy or dissatisfaction especially if they cognitive component (beliefs) and a behavioral component (action)
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
H

do not feel capable of obtaining better outcomes in future

Attitudes are formed through the basic process of learning like
en

en
tm

tm
ar

ar

- Counterfactual thinking can also help individuals understand why operant conditioning (reward for correct behavior), observation
ep

ep
D

negative outcomes occured learning (adopt views of role models) and classical conditioning
(affective aspect)
 Attitudes: Evaluating the social world Attitudes: Evaluating the social world
Persuasion: using message to change attitude - Changing attitudes The cognitive approach to persuasion – people process persuasive
of people has been the biggest business of the twenty-first centaury messages in two distinct ways

es

s
ce
and using persuasive messages to do has proved to be really

nc

en
ie

ci
c
lS

lS
effective. - Systematic processing (central route) to persuasion involves

uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
- Experts are more persuasive than non-experts careful consideration of message content, the idea it contains etc
um av B

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n

n
i

i
f H f. N an

f H f. N an
- Heuristic processing (peripheral route) to persuasion involves the
t o Pro um

t o Pro um
- Messages that appear to be designed to not change attidues
H

H
- Attractive sources use of simple rules of thumbs ot mental shortcuts (experts can be
trusted belief)
en

en
- Distraction is used to change attitudes
rtm

rtm
a

a
ep

ep
- Two-sided approach when people hold contrary views
D

D
- Emotions When do we use the different approaches?
- Fast speaking people - Modern theories of persuasion like elaboration-likelihood model

Attitudes: Evaluating the social world Attitudes: Evaluating the social world
and the heuristic-systematic model suggest that - Cognitive dissonance – how we change our own attitudes
- We engage in effortful type of processing when our capacity to
Induced compliance – are situations in which we feel compelled to
s

s
process the information relating to the persuasive message is high or
e

e
nc

nc
e

e
say or do things inconsistent with our own attitudes. This may in turn
ci

ci
lS

lS
when we are motivated to do so
uw s as ur

uw s as ur
at S ap

at S ap
ia

ia
G itie K vio

G itie K vio
oc

oc
ah and hy

ah and hy
lead to changes in privates attitudes.
IIT an ee eha

IIT an ee eha
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- In contrast we engage in less effortful processing when we lack the
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ability or capacity to process more carefully or when our motivation The term cognitive dissonance refers to feelings we experience when
to perform such tasks are low we notice a gap between two attitudes we hold or between our
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attitudes and behavior. We reduce this dissonance through
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D

- Research suggests that uninteresting or irrelevant persuasive - We can change our attitude or behavior to be consistent
messages produce low persuasion - We can acquire new information that supports our attitudes
- We can engage in trivialization

Attitudes: Evaluating the social world Social Behaviour: Interacting with others
All approaches of attitude change mentioned above are direct We not only think about others but also interact with them and in
methods of dissonance reduction this influence them and are influenced too at times
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There are a number of indirect techniques to dissonance reduction Prejudice: distorted views of the social world – are powerful
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- Steele (1993) suggests individuals experiencing dissonance may negative attitudes towards the members of specific social group
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focus not so much on reducing the gap between their attitudes and based solely on their membership in that group
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behavior as on the self affirmation – efforts to restore positive self-

evaluations that are threatened by the dissonance. Several origins of prejudice
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- The realistic conflict theory suggests that prejudice stems from

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Self affirmation can be achieved by focusing on the positive self competition between social groups over valued commodities or
attributes – good things about oneself. opportunities
 Social Behaviour: Interacting with others Social Behaviour: Interacting with others
Social categorization - the diving of the world into distinct social The role of stereotypes – stereotypes are cognitive frameworks
categories like us and them generate sharp contrasting feelings and consisting of knowledge and beliefs about specific social groups –

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beliefs that are usually attached to members of in-groups and to suggesting that by and large, all members of these groups posses

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members of various out-groups. Persons in us category are viewed certain traits, at least to a degree.

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in favorable terms, while those in the them group are perceived
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negatively Once an individual acquires a stereotype he tends to notices
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information that fits the cognitive frameworks and remembers
We acquire prejudiced attitudes through learning. We acquire them consists facts from memories
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from people around us through social learning. Countless
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experience where teachers/parents/friends express prejudice views Stereotypes act as labor-saving device (quick & dirty judgments)
make children acquire these attitudes They also individuals to protect and bolster their social identity

Social Behaviour: Interacting with others Social influence: Changing others behaviour
How to tackle prejudice Social influence involves attempts by one or more persons to
change the attitudes or behavior of one or more others. Three
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Learning not to hate – discouraging the transmission of bigoted important forms of this influence exists
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views while encouraging more positive attitudes towards others
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G itie K vio

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ah and hy

ah and hy
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Conformity – pressure to think or act like other people stem from
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Increasing the contact between peoples from different groups the fact that in many contexts there are spoken or unspoken rules
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which will lead to realization of similarities between people indicating how we should behave. These rules are known as social
norms
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Resetting the boundary between us and them – re-categorization –

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somehow inducing individuals to shift the boundary between us Descriptive norms – tells us what most people do in a given
and them reduces prejudice situation (generally appropriate or desirable behavior)

Social influence: Changing others behaviour Social influence: Changing others behaviour
Injunctive norms – specify what should (or should not) be done and Compliance – when we want someone to do something for us we
not merely what people do in specific situations use certain tricks to getting people to say yes to us – or comply to
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our request. Some strategies for compliance are

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Why do we comply?
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ah and hy

ah and hy
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Tactic based on liking – ingratiation which is making people like us

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Each of us has a strong desire to be liked by others. Experience help people in complying with us. We achieve this through
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teaches that one way to reach this goal is to appear to be as similar

to others as possible -Self-enhancing tactics (enhance personal appeal)
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We confirm to others to as we have a strong desire to be right – to - Other enhancing tactics (flattering target persons)
hold the right views, dress in right style and so on
 Social influence: Changing others behaviour Social influence: Changing others behaviour
Tactics based on commitment or consistency (foot in the door Obedience (social influence by demand) – most influential way one
techniques) – getting others to say yes to our requests are based on can change others people behaviors is through direct orders –

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obtaining an initial small commitment from the target person

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simply telling the other person what to do.

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G itie K vio

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ah and hy

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Tactics based on reciprocity (door in the face) – instead of stating Why people show obedience?
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with a small request we start with a big request that people put
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down and then make a small request - The source take the responsibility of the actions of participants
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- Source holds clear signs of authority (authority is to be obeyed)
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Tactics based on scarcity (playing hard to get) – a tactics in which
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- Commands to be carried out are gradual
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individuals try to create the impression that they are very popular
or very much in demand

Attraction and Love Attraction and Love

Similarity – the more similar people are to us (attitudes, personality or by the way the person looks we tend to like that individual . But
or habits)the more we like them as such persons provide us even our positive feelings have nothing to do with the person – as in
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validation for our views or our personal characteristics. This make us the unexpectedly high grade incident or if we meet someone in a
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feel good and our liking for them increases pleasant setting
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ah and hy

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Affective states – positive feeling or moods – whatever their source Physical attractiveness – most important factor affecting
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en P H

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– cause us to like others we meet while experiencing them; while interpersonal attraction is physical beauty. Research suggests that
negative moods cause us to dislike others we meet when we are we are suckers for a pretty or handsome face.
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feeling low. - Physical attractive people make us feel good

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- Physical attractiveness is associated with good health ang good

- If positive feeling are produces by something another person says reproductive capacity.

Attraction and Love Attraction and Love

What make people attractive? – it is dependent a lot on cultures Judgments of attractiveness do not depend solely on facial features
however most people agrees on what is attractive and not and are influenced by other aspects of peoples appearance
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Among women two distinct patterns of facial features are viewed as Physique is another important determinant of attraction, at least
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attractive: a ‘cute’ pattern involving childlike features with large among young people. Persons whose physique matches the popular
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widely spaced eyes and a small nose and chin (Meg Ryan) and a model – currently slim but muscular – tend to receive higher
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‘mature’ pattern involving prominent cheekbones, high eyebrows, evaluations than persons who depart from this model
large pupils and a big smile (Julia Roberts)
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Love (most intense form of attraction) what is and how do we know

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Two cluster of attractive features for men are youthful appearance

(Leonardo DiCaprio) and mature masculine (Harrison Ford) Romantic love is a form of love involving feelings of strong attraction
 Attraction and Love Attraction and Love
Love (how and why it occurs)
and sexual desire towards another person. There are other forms of
Romantic love often develops quite suddenly. People report that
love like companionate love
falling in love feels like being struck by emotional lightning

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Three components are central to romantic love

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We are prepared to fall in love by our earlier relationship

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- Before we can say that we are in love the idea of romantic love
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must be present in our culture
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Through the ages the reproductive successes of our species
- We must experience intense emotional arousal when in the
depended on two factors
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presence of an appropriate person
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- A desire on the part of both men and women to engage in sexual
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- these feelings must be mixed with the desire to be loved by the
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intercourse
object of our affection, coupled with fears that the relationship
- An interest in investing the time and effort required to feed and
might end
protect offspring

Attraction and Love

Love (why it sometimes dies)
e s

- When partners discover that they are dissimilar in important ways,

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love can be weakened or even die

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- Another and potentially serious problem is simple boredom

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- Third jealousy can undermine loving relationship

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- Fourth changing patterns of affect

- Fifth partly as function of early childhood experiences people differ
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in their attachment style

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- Interactions that can only be described as self defeating patterns of

behavior sometimes emerge.