GRE Psychology Subject Test: PEOPLE
questions with verified answers
E. L. Thorndike Ans✓✓-law of effect: reward-punishment. Precursor of operant
conditioning (SKINNER). Postulated a cause-and-effect chain of behavior revolving
around reinforcement. Individuals do what rewards them and stop doing what
doesn't bring some type of reward. // Instrumental learning* This type of learning
happens through "trial, error, and accidental success." The animal then acts based
on previous successes. This led to his LAW OF EFFECT- postulated that successful
behaviors are MORE LIKELY TO BE REPEATED. Demonstrated this concept with
CATS IN PUZZLE BOXES. A cat was placed inside the box and would eventually
accidentally press the escape door level and be free. In later trials, the cat would
press the lever right away.// LAW OF EFFECT = precursor to operant conditioning.
Psychologist and Columbia university.
Kurt Lewin Ans✓✓-theory of association: forerunner of behaviorism. Association
is group things together based on the fact that they occur together in time and
space. Organisms associate certain behaviors with certain rewards and certain
cues with certain situations. Pavlov later proved experimentally*// FOUNDER OF
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. Applied gestalt ideas to social behavior. Conceived FIELD
THEORY= the total of influences upon individual behavior. A person's LIFE SPACE=
the collection of forces upon the individual. VALENCE VECTOR and BARRIER=
forces in the life space.
B. F. Skinner Ans✓✓-operant conditioning: first scientific experiments to prove
the concepts in Thorndike's law of effect and in Watson's idea of the causes/
effects of behavior. Behavior is influenced primarily by reinforcement= operant
conditioning. Created the now classic stereotype of a psychological study- rats
and the skinner box. Proved that animals are influenced by reinforcement.//
BEHAVIOR THEORY= B.F. Skinner. Behavior theory is the application of classical
and operant conditioning principles to human abnormal behavior. It is a model of
behavior BASED ON LEARNING. Behavioralists change maladaptive behavior
,through new learning. RADICAL BEHAVIORALISM is associated with Skinner's
operant ideas that behavior is related only to its consequences.
NEOBEHAVIORALISM uses Pavlov's classical counterconditioning principles to
create new responses to stimuli. //SKINNER BOX + OPERANT CONDITIONING.
Famous behaviorist. 2 famous books= Walden Two and Beyond Freedom and
Dignity. Both philosophically discuss the control of human behavior.
Ivan Pavlov Ans✓✓-classical conditioning (Pavlovian conditioning): teaching an
organism to respond to a neutral stimulus by pairing the neutral stimulus with a
not-so-neutral stimulus (CS). Ex: dogs would salivate at the sight of food, but also
at the sound of the assistant's footsteps. //BEHAVIOR THEORY= Ivan Pavlov.
Behavior theory is the application of classical and operant conditioning principles
to human abnormal behavior. It is a model of behavior BASED ON LEARNING.
Behavioralists change maladaptive behavior through new learning. RADICAL
BEHAVIORALISM is associated with Skinner's operant ideas that behavior is
related only to its consequences. NEOBEHAVIORALISM uses Pavlov's classical
counterconditioning principles to create new responses to stimuli. // CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING. Acquired fame as the winner of the Nobel Prize for his work on
digestion. Later, investigating dogs and classical conditioning.
John B. Watson Ans✓✓-school of behaviorism: expanded on Pavlov's classical
conditioning. Watson's idea of learning, like his idea of all behavior, was that
everything could be explained by stimulus-response chains and that conditioning
was the key factor in developing these chains. MOST CONCERNED WITH CHILD
DEVELOPMENT—ENVIRONMENT IMPACTS DEVELOPMENT. //BEHAVIORISM
APPROACH. Imitation of parents is what shaped kids and their behavior. Molded
by their environment. // expanded on Pavlov and founded the school of
BEHAVIORALISM. Continued to study conditioning, stimulus-response chains, and
objective, observable behaviors. Saw humans as SQUIRMING BITS OF FLESH ready
to be trained.
,Fritz Heider Ans✓✓-FOUNDER OF ATTRIBUTION AND BALANCE THEORIES.
Attribution theory= the study of how people infer the causes of others' behavior.
People will actually attribute intentions and emotion to just about anything.
Balance theory= the study of how people make their feelings and/or actions
consistent to preserve psychological homeostasis.
Charles Osgood + Percy Tannenbaum Ans✓✓-congruency theory
Charles Osgood Ans✓✓-congruency theory // studied semantics, or word
meanings. Famous for his creation of semantic differential charts, which allowed
people to plot the meaning of words on graphs. People with similar backgrounds
and interested plotted words similarly. Indicating that words have similar
connotations (implied meaning) for cultures or subcultures. STUDIED SEMANTICS.
PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR BACKGROUNDS AND INTERESTS EXPERIENCE WORDS THAT
HAVE SIMILAR (IMPLIED MEANINGS) ACROSS CULTURES IN THE SAME WAY. Ex:
near good, but far from relaxed.
Leon Festinger Ans✓✓-cognitive dissonance theory= suggests that it is
uncomfortable for people to have beliefs that do not match their actions. After
making a difficult decision, people are motivated to back their actions up by
touting corresponding beliefs. Also, the less the act is justified by circumstance,
the more we feel the need to justify it by bringing our attitude in life with the
behavior.
Clark Hull Ans✓✓-drive reduction theory: Performance= Drive X Habit =
individuals are first motivated by drive, and then act according to old successful
habits. They will do what has worked in the past to satisfy their drive. Ex: do you
look for food do satisfy the hunger drive? Etc. DRIVE REDUCTION. REDUCE THE
DRIVE.// EXPLAINED MOTIVATION WITH MATH! Performance = Drive X Habit.
AKA, we do what we need to do and we do what has worked best in the past.
, Edward Tolman Ans✓✓-expectancy-value theory: Performance = expectation x
value. Believes that people are motivated by goals that they think they might
actually meet. *Victor Vroom big companies offer little incentives to people low
on the totem pole. Tolman's experiments: animals form cognitive maps of mazes
rather than simple escape routes // behaviorist. PURPOSIVE BEHAVIOR theory
asserted that learning is acquired through meaningful behavior (termed sign
learning) and that rats in mazes formed cognitive maps rather than blindly
attempting various routes. ALSO CREATED - EXPECTANCY-VALUE THEORY of
motivation in which PERFORMANCE = EXPECTATION X VALUE.
Henry Murray + David McClelland + John Atkinson Ans✓✓-studied that people
are motivated by a need for achievement (nAch). May be manifested through a
need to pursue success, or a need to avoid failure, but either way the goal is to
feel successful. Atkinson suggested:
Henry Murray Ans✓✓-TAT
Neil Miller Ans✓✓-approach-avoidance conflict: conflict refers to the state one
feels when a certain goal has both pros and cons. The further one is from the
goal, the more they focus on the pros or reasons to approach the goal. The closer
one is from the goal, the more reasons they come up with to not obtain goal//
proved experimentally that abnormal behavior can be learned.
Donald Hebb Ans✓✓-arousal= important. A medium amount is best for
performance. // memory involves changes in synapses and neural pathways—
making a memory "tree"
Albert Bandura Ans✓✓-modeling= bobo doll
questions with verified answers
E. L. Thorndike Ans✓✓-law of effect: reward-punishment. Precursor of operant
conditioning (SKINNER). Postulated a cause-and-effect chain of behavior revolving
around reinforcement. Individuals do what rewards them and stop doing what
doesn't bring some type of reward. // Instrumental learning* This type of learning
happens through "trial, error, and accidental success." The animal then acts based
on previous successes. This led to his LAW OF EFFECT- postulated that successful
behaviors are MORE LIKELY TO BE REPEATED. Demonstrated this concept with
CATS IN PUZZLE BOXES. A cat was placed inside the box and would eventually
accidentally press the escape door level and be free. In later trials, the cat would
press the lever right away.// LAW OF EFFECT = precursor to operant conditioning.
Psychologist and Columbia university.
Kurt Lewin Ans✓✓-theory of association: forerunner of behaviorism. Association
is group things together based on the fact that they occur together in time and
space. Organisms associate certain behaviors with certain rewards and certain
cues with certain situations. Pavlov later proved experimentally*// FOUNDER OF
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. Applied gestalt ideas to social behavior. Conceived FIELD
THEORY= the total of influences upon individual behavior. A person's LIFE SPACE=
the collection of forces upon the individual. VALENCE VECTOR and BARRIER=
forces in the life space.
B. F. Skinner Ans✓✓-operant conditioning: first scientific experiments to prove
the concepts in Thorndike's law of effect and in Watson's idea of the causes/
effects of behavior. Behavior is influenced primarily by reinforcement= operant
conditioning. Created the now classic stereotype of a psychological study- rats
and the skinner box. Proved that animals are influenced by reinforcement.//
BEHAVIOR THEORY= B.F. Skinner. Behavior theory is the application of classical
and operant conditioning principles to human abnormal behavior. It is a model of
behavior BASED ON LEARNING. Behavioralists change maladaptive behavior
,through new learning. RADICAL BEHAVIORALISM is associated with Skinner's
operant ideas that behavior is related only to its consequences.
NEOBEHAVIORALISM uses Pavlov's classical counterconditioning principles to
create new responses to stimuli. //SKINNER BOX + OPERANT CONDITIONING.
Famous behaviorist. 2 famous books= Walden Two and Beyond Freedom and
Dignity. Both philosophically discuss the control of human behavior.
Ivan Pavlov Ans✓✓-classical conditioning (Pavlovian conditioning): teaching an
organism to respond to a neutral stimulus by pairing the neutral stimulus with a
not-so-neutral stimulus (CS). Ex: dogs would salivate at the sight of food, but also
at the sound of the assistant's footsteps. //BEHAVIOR THEORY= Ivan Pavlov.
Behavior theory is the application of classical and operant conditioning principles
to human abnormal behavior. It is a model of behavior BASED ON LEARNING.
Behavioralists change maladaptive behavior through new learning. RADICAL
BEHAVIORALISM is associated with Skinner's operant ideas that behavior is
related only to its consequences. NEOBEHAVIORALISM uses Pavlov's classical
counterconditioning principles to create new responses to stimuli. // CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING. Acquired fame as the winner of the Nobel Prize for his work on
digestion. Later, investigating dogs and classical conditioning.
John B. Watson Ans✓✓-school of behaviorism: expanded on Pavlov's classical
conditioning. Watson's idea of learning, like his idea of all behavior, was that
everything could be explained by stimulus-response chains and that conditioning
was the key factor in developing these chains. MOST CONCERNED WITH CHILD
DEVELOPMENT—ENVIRONMENT IMPACTS DEVELOPMENT. //BEHAVIORISM
APPROACH. Imitation of parents is what shaped kids and their behavior. Molded
by their environment. // expanded on Pavlov and founded the school of
BEHAVIORALISM. Continued to study conditioning, stimulus-response chains, and
objective, observable behaviors. Saw humans as SQUIRMING BITS OF FLESH ready
to be trained.
,Fritz Heider Ans✓✓-FOUNDER OF ATTRIBUTION AND BALANCE THEORIES.
Attribution theory= the study of how people infer the causes of others' behavior.
People will actually attribute intentions and emotion to just about anything.
Balance theory= the study of how people make their feelings and/or actions
consistent to preserve psychological homeostasis.
Charles Osgood + Percy Tannenbaum Ans✓✓-congruency theory
Charles Osgood Ans✓✓-congruency theory // studied semantics, or word
meanings. Famous for his creation of semantic differential charts, which allowed
people to plot the meaning of words on graphs. People with similar backgrounds
and interested plotted words similarly. Indicating that words have similar
connotations (implied meaning) for cultures or subcultures. STUDIED SEMANTICS.
PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR BACKGROUNDS AND INTERESTS EXPERIENCE WORDS THAT
HAVE SIMILAR (IMPLIED MEANINGS) ACROSS CULTURES IN THE SAME WAY. Ex:
near good, but far from relaxed.
Leon Festinger Ans✓✓-cognitive dissonance theory= suggests that it is
uncomfortable for people to have beliefs that do not match their actions. After
making a difficult decision, people are motivated to back their actions up by
touting corresponding beliefs. Also, the less the act is justified by circumstance,
the more we feel the need to justify it by bringing our attitude in life with the
behavior.
Clark Hull Ans✓✓-drive reduction theory: Performance= Drive X Habit =
individuals are first motivated by drive, and then act according to old successful
habits. They will do what has worked in the past to satisfy their drive. Ex: do you
look for food do satisfy the hunger drive? Etc. DRIVE REDUCTION. REDUCE THE
DRIVE.// EXPLAINED MOTIVATION WITH MATH! Performance = Drive X Habit.
AKA, we do what we need to do and we do what has worked best in the past.
, Edward Tolman Ans✓✓-expectancy-value theory: Performance = expectation x
value. Believes that people are motivated by goals that they think they might
actually meet. *Victor Vroom big companies offer little incentives to people low
on the totem pole. Tolman's experiments: animals form cognitive maps of mazes
rather than simple escape routes // behaviorist. PURPOSIVE BEHAVIOR theory
asserted that learning is acquired through meaningful behavior (termed sign
learning) and that rats in mazes formed cognitive maps rather than blindly
attempting various routes. ALSO CREATED - EXPECTANCY-VALUE THEORY of
motivation in which PERFORMANCE = EXPECTATION X VALUE.
Henry Murray + David McClelland + John Atkinson Ans✓✓-studied that people
are motivated by a need for achievement (nAch). May be manifested through a
need to pursue success, or a need to avoid failure, but either way the goal is to
feel successful. Atkinson suggested:
Henry Murray Ans✓✓-TAT
Neil Miller Ans✓✓-approach-avoidance conflict: conflict refers to the state one
feels when a certain goal has both pros and cons. The further one is from the
goal, the more they focus on the pros or reasons to approach the goal. The closer
one is from the goal, the more reasons they come up with to not obtain goal//
proved experimentally that abnormal behavior can be learned.
Donald Hebb Ans✓✓-arousal= important. A medium amount is best for
performance. // memory involves changes in synapses and neural pathways—
making a memory "tree"
Albert Bandura Ans✓✓-modeling= bobo doll
