Captain Psychology

ktangen

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Terms: Brain

Terms You Can Trust

Here are the terms you need to understand and remember. These facts and concepts are the raw materials for your studying. Here’s how to approach it

Start by identifying the “Don’t Knows.” These are the items you are sure you don’t know. We have a unique ability to know what we don’t know. Without searching, you know you don’t know the word shkuumptin (because I just made it up). But you didn’t have to search. You immediately knew it wasn’t in your memory systems.

Use this ability, called negative recognition, to speed up your studying. Scan through the list of terms and make note of the ones you don’t know anything about. Look them up and move them from Don’t Knows to Not Sures.

Once everything is either Know or Not Sure, you can organize the list into clusters, study the clusters and remember everything better.

  • actual-face recognition
  • algorithms
  • alpha waves
  • animal intelligence
  • artificial intelligence
  • artificial selection
  • beta waves
  • bottom-up processing
  • brain waves
  • breeding
  • Breland, Keller & Marian
  • Broca’s area
  • cerebellum
  • clustering
  • contralateral
  • cortex
  • deep learning networks
  • delta waves
  • emotion
  • emotion recognition
  • engram
  • eugenics
  • face-like recognition
  • feature detection
  • frontal lobes
  • Galton
  • gamma waves
  • genetic predispositions
  • genetic susceptibility
  • Goldberg, Rube
  • grey matter
  • handedness
  • hemispheres
  • human intelligence
  • instinctive drift
  • intelligence
  • interpreting context
  • intonation
  • ipsilateral
  • labeling
  • language
  • latent inhibition
  • lateralization of function
  • left-handed
  • likelihood
  • lobes
  • logic
  • memory
  • motivation
  • multilayer neural networks
  • natural selection
  • neural networks
  • neuro-plasticity
  • occipital lobes
  • parietal lobes
  • part recognition
  • pattern recognition
  • problem solving
  • processes
  • REM
  • right-handed
  • rooting
  • similarity detection
  • SMR (synchronous sensorimotor rhythm)
  • state dependent learning
  • Stroop effect
  • synapses
  • task coordination
  • temporal lobes
  • theta waves
  • top-down processing
  • Turing test
  • Wernicke’s area
  • white matter
  • whole recognition

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Terms: Encoding

Terms You Can Trust

Here are the terms you need to understand and remember. These facts and concepts are the raw materials for your studying. Here’s how to approach it

Start by identifying the “Don’t Knows.” These are the items you are sure you don’t know. We have a unique ability to know what we don’t know. Without searching, you know you don’t know the word shkuumptin (because I just made it up). But you didn’t have to search. You immediately knew it wasn’t in your memory systems.

Use this ability, called negative recognition, to speed up your studying. Scan through the list of terms and make note of the ones you don’t know anything about. Look them up and move them from Don’t Knows to Not Sures.

Once everything is either Know or Not Sure, you can organize the list into clusters, study the clusters and remember everything better.

  • 1st time
  • acoustic encoding
  • attention
  • blocking
  • categories
  • change blindness
  • closure
  • clustering
  • cocktail party effect
  • contextual distinctiveness
  • differences
  • distinctiveness
  • distortion
  • emotional distinctiveness
  • encoding
  • encoding specificity principle
  • inattentional blindness
  • incubation
  • Little Mermaid
  • metacognition
  • primary distinctiveness
  • retrieval
  • secondary distinctiveness
  • self-referent
  • semantic encoding
  • similarities
  • sounds like…
  • starts with letter…
  • tactile encoding
  • visual encoding
  • von Restorff effect
  • Zeigarnik effect

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Terms: Cognition

Terms You Can Trust

Here are the terms you need to understand and remember. These facts and concepts are the raw materials for your studying. Here’s how to approach it

Start by identifying the “Don’t Knows.” These are the items you are sure you don’t know. We have a unique ability to know what we don’t know. Without searching, you know you don’t know the word shkuumptin (because I just made it up). But you didn’t have to search. You immediately knew it wasn’t in your memory systems.

Use this ability, called negative recognition, to speed up your studying. Scan through the list of terms and make note of the ones you don’t know anything about. Look them up and move them from Don’t Knows to Not Sures.

Once everything is either Know or Not Sure, you can organize the list into clusters, study the clusters and remember everything better.

  • “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
  • acquiring information
  • Aristotle’s laws of association
  • attention
  • bearing map
  • biotic experiments
  • Bruner, Jerome
  • cognition
  • cognitive maps
  • cognitive theories
  • constructivism
  • contextual theories
  • contiguity
  • decision making
  • discovery learning
  • evaluation
  • functional fixedness
  • Gestalt
  • information processing
  • inputs
  • integrated whole
  • intervening variables
  • judgment
  • landmark maps
  • latent learning
  • Maslow’s hammer
  • memory stores
  • mental action
  • mental processes
  • mental set
  • mind as a computer analogy
  • opposites
  • path integration
  • perceptions
  • phenomenon experimental analysis
  • phi phenomenon
  • Piaget
  • principle of psychophysical isomorphism
  • principle of totality
  • processing inputs
  • reasoning
  • remembering
  • scaffolding
  • self-organizing tendencies
  • similarity
  • sketch maps
  • spiral curriculum
  • storing knowledge
  • structuralism
  • thinking
  • Tolman, Edward
  • understanding
  • vector maps
  • vividness
  • Vygotsky
  • Wertheimer, Max
  • working memory

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Personality

We tend to assume Personality and facial expressions always agree

Everyone is psychology has at least one idea about what should be excluded in a definition of personality. But nobody agrees on what should be included. Some say there are over 50 definitions of personality but I think that’s a major underestimate. About all everyone agrees on is that there are too many definitions of personality.

Since personality describes who you are as a person, there are a lot of possibilities available. You do, think, say, process, interpret and feel. But which, some, or all of these should be included? It depends on your approach.

Here are three questions you must ask when you study personality:

1. Are the characteristics of personality static or dynamic? Dynamic views maintain that personality is constantly changing. They point to the relatively poor test-retest reliabilities of personality tests. If personality is stable, why do people change from week to week? In contrast, static views of personality note that you tend to act pretty much the same. This fits with our internal view of ourselves as being constant. Static theories have the added requirement of defining when personality is complete: at 6 months, 4 years old, etc.

2. Are you interested in what we have in common (human nature) or what makes us unique (individual differences)? We can and do compare ourselves to others. We want to be sure we’re not strange or weird. But we also want to be special and different. So personality can be described by common traits, process or principles. Or it can be described by uncommon dispositions, goal and strivings.

3. Is your primary interest theoretical, practical or experimental? A theoretical approach requires nothing more than an armchair and your mind. You can create a definition or a complete theory of personality with nothing but your imagination. A practical approach to personality might focus on finding a quick (if not stereotypical) sketch of a person. You might want to know what is typical of this person. Experimental approaches to personality convert theoretical constructs into measureable variables. Studies can be conducted in a lab or in the real world.

Here is a catalog style description of the course:

Major theoretical paradigms of personality are explored. Topics include psychoanalysis, humanism, social, cognitive  and existentialism. Special attention paid to testing, diagnosis and research design.

Here is what it really means:

You will learn a lot of  theories, and to be wary of personality testing.

Let’s start with the oldest but perhaps most widespread approach to personality.

Trait Theory

 

Want to jump ahead?

Ten day tour of personality

There are 10 things we are going to look at:

Resources

Book

 

Bonus

 

Credit: Photo by Boudewijn Huysmans on Unsplash

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Aversion, Avoidance & Escape

1. Applied Classical Conditioning

Ever feel like running away? The problem with running away from something causes to run toward something different, often without considering what options are available to use. In escape, a bad thing happens before we are activated into action. In avoidance, a bad thing happens and we try really hard to to let it happen again.In aversion, the thought of something bad is enough for us to dislike it.

Here are 5 things we will discuss:

  • Applied Classical Conditioning
  • Aversion
  • Avoidance
  • Escape
  • PTSD

Watson

    • Little Albert
    • Walter Thompson Advertising
    • Ponds cold cream
    • Maxwell house “coffee break”
    • Testimonials
    • Pebeco toothpaste
    • Seduction, smoking is okay if use Pebeco
    • Advertising

Current examples

2. Aversion

Avoidance : stopping from doing (I control)

Aversion: Strong dislike or disinclination (external control)

Taste Aversion

    • Fairly common
    • Sushi
    • Chemotherapy: associate drug nausea with food
    • Toxic, poisonous or spoiled food
    • Operant or classical conditioning?
    • Not require cognitive awareness
    • One trial
    • Long time between $ and effect
    • Hot dog at lunch, sick at night

Garcia, John

    1. Garcia effect
    2. Coincidental, not food caused
    3. Rats given sweetened water before radiation
    4. 3 groups
    5. No radiation            chose sweet.   80%
    6. Mild radiation          mix                40%
    7. Strong radiation       tap                  10%
    8. Choice of sweetened or tap water
    9. Moral: stimulus used in classical conditioning matters
    10. An internal stimulus produced an internal response while an external stimulus produced an external response; but an external stimulus would not produce an internal response and vice versa

Seligman

    • Sauce-bearmaise syndrome

Risk

    • Prefer outcomes with low uncertainty
    • Even if can get more reward
    • More predictable but less profitable

Rotter

    • Behavior = likelihood and size of reward

Kahneman & Tversky

    • Tend to avoid risk if choice is between gains
    • Seek risks when choice is between losses
    • For example, most people prefer a certain gain of 3,000 to an 80% chance of a gain of 4,000. When posed the same problem, but for losses, most people prefer an 80% chance of a loss of 4,000 to a certain loss of 3,000.
    • Brain
    • Risk aversion in right inferior frontal gyrus
    • Deal or No Deal
    • People are more risk averse in limelight
    • Investors
    • Investors trade more frequently and more speculatively with online trading (instead of phone)

Loss Aversion

    • Prefer avoiding losses
    • Loss preceeds loss aversion
    • Previously experienced (loss)
      • Start another relationship after breakup
    • Expected to happen (risk)
    • Loss aversion is twice as strong as risk
      • Much worse to lose $100 than satisfaction of winning $100
    • Expectations
      • belief about an outcome; can create loss aversion even if nothing bad has happened
    • Framing
      • $5 discount or as a $5 surcharge

3. Avoidance

  • Bad experience
  • Don’t go back
  • Put on sun glasses before going out
  • Avoidance parados: no stimulus, so what maintains behavior
  • Discriminated avoidance experiment
    • Neutral stimulus (light) is followed by aversive (shock)
    • Press lever to prevent aversive stimulus: avoidance
  • Free-operant avoidance learning
    • No neutral stimulus
    • Periodically gets shock unless press lever periodically

4. Escape

  • Bad experience
  • Get out
  • Behavior terminates aversive stimulus
  • Cover eyes, cover ears, leave location
  • Negative reinforcement
    • Neutral stimulus (light) is followed by aversive (shock)
    • Press lever to terminate aversive stimulus: escape

5. PTSD

  • History
    • Shell shock
    • Combat neurosis
    • Mental disorder?
  • Traumatic event occurs
    • Most people don’t have symptoms
    • War: 75% no symptoms
  • Any person
  • Any age
  • Symptoms after event
  • Symptoms within first 3 months
    • Flashback: relive episode
    • Disorder: cause disruption
  • Longer than month
  • Heredity?
    • Twins in Vietnam war, more likely
    • Smaller hippocampus more likely
    • Heightened startle response
  • Brain
    • High levels of cortisol, can’t reset
    • Low levels of serotonin (regulate emotion)
    • Low levels of dopamine (what’s important)
    • Less active ventromedial areas (regulation of emotion)
    • Smaller hippocampus (emotional memories not processed)
    • May self-medicate with drugs and alcohol

 

 

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Skills

I have had a guitar for many years. Not the same one but the same problem: I’m not a very skilled guitar player. In addition to short fingers, I don’t practice and never did. Consequently, not very skilled.

There are a few genetic advantages we can be born with but most skills are acquired by consistent, persistent practice. There is no general skill for balance or coordination. But there is a lot of variation in the amount of time people devote to practicing a specific skill.

Terms

  • AAA BBB CCC
  • ABC ABC ABC
  • ACB ABC BAC
  • artificial ventilation
  • autonomous stage
  • block practice
  • certainty
  • classification dimensions
  • closed environments
  • complex skills
  • continuous movements
  • declarative stage
  • delayed retrieval
  • differentiation
  • discrete movements
  • discrete skills
  • discriminative-contrast hypothesis
  • distributed practice
  • economy of motion
  • environmental factors
  • environments
  • experiential learning
  • experts
  • explicit knowledge
  • external-paced
  • fine motor skills
  • flow
  • fluency
  • fluid movements
  • general ability
  • grace
  • gross motor skills
  • hecklers
  • hobbies
  • implicit knowledge
  • improvisations
  • Increased effectiveness
  • interleaved practice
  • Johns Hopkins
  • Kahneman, Daniel
  • maximum certainty
  • maximum fluency
  • minimum energy
  • minimum time
  • mixed skills
  • motor stage
  • movements
  • muscles
  • open environments
  • pacing
  • performance characteristics
  • practice
  • practice exercises
  • practiced behavior
  • productive failure
  • proficiency
  • randomized order
  • retrieval-practice hypothesis
  • self-pacing skills
  • serial skills
  • series
  • simple skills
  • simplicity
  • small gains
  • speeded tests
  • stages of learning skills
  • start with a guide
  • talk your way through it
  • target behaviors
  • target contexts
  • target skills
  • targets
  • task specific
  • Thinking Fast and Slow
  • timed events
  • tips
  • track your progress
  • uniqueness
  • variation
  • when matters
  • working memory

Quiz

The first stage of skill development is:

  • a. interleaved
  • b. declarative
  • c. expressive
  • d. implicit

 

2. Component actions needed to perform target skills are:

  • a. maximally fluent
  • b. target behaviors
  • c. predictable
  • d. discrete

3. Playing jazz is an:

  • a. elaborated environment
  • b. inverted environment
  • c. aligned environment
  • d. open environment

4. A signer who is neither flat or sharp is demonstrating:

  • a. maximum certainly
  • b. maximum fluency
  • c. minimum energy
  • d. minimum time

5. Skills are:

  • a. not a general ability
  • b. open or closed
  • c. practiced
  • d. all of the above

Answers

1. The first stage of skill development is:

  • a. interleaved
  • b. declarative
  • c. expressive
  • d. implicit

2. Component actions needed to perform target skills are:

  • a. maximally fluent
  • b. target behaviors
  • c. predictable
  • d. discrete

3. Playing jazz is an:

  • a. elaborated environment
  • b. inverted environment
  • c. aligned environment
  • d. open environment

4. A signer who is neither flat or sharp is demonstrating:

  • a. maximum certainly
  • b. maximum fluency
  • c. minimum energy
  • d. minimum time

5. Skills are:

  • a. not a general ability
  • b. open or closed
  • c. practiced
  • d. all of the above

 

 

 

 

Here are 5 things we’ll cover:

  • What are skills
  • Skill acquisition stages
  • Practice
  • Fast & Slow
  • Tips

are my notes on this topic:

1. What are skills

  • Not a general ability
  • Test-taking skill
  • Performance characteristics
    • maximum certainty
    • maximum fluency
    • minimum energy
    • minimum time
  • Classification Dimensions (six)
    • environment
    • muscles
    • target
    • movement
    • simplicity
    • pacing
  • Behavior classifications
  • Target behaviors & contexts
  • Discrete, Continuous, Serial, & Mixed

2. Skill acquisition stages

  • declarative
  • motor
  • autonomous

3. Practice

  • Rehearsal
    • substantial (orchestra)
    • some rehearsal (wedding)
    • none (Noh therater)
    • mental rehearsal
    • expanded rehearsal strategy
  • Blocked Practice (normal)
    • Review basics
    • Complete practice exercises
    • Acceptable level of proficiency, move on
    • AAA
    • BBB
    • CCC
  • Interleaved Practice
    • Also called: varied practice or mixed practice
    • Work on multiple skills in parallel
    • Series: ABC ABC ABC
    • Randomized: ACB ABC BAC
    • NOTE: can’t work on same type of problem back to back
  • Two groups
  • Blockers (block practice)
    • Given one tutorial
    • 4 related practice problems
    • Move on from spheres to cones, etc.
  • Mixers (interleaved practice)
    • given all four tutorials
    • completed 16 practice problems
    • mixed
    • 1 of each in every cluster of 4
  • Both groups
    • Two practice sessions
    • Test one week later
  • Results
    • Blockers did better on practice sessions
    • ~29% better
    • Mixers did better on tests
    • 43% better
  • Theories
    • Retrieval-practice hypothesis
      • First problem retrieves needed info
      • Remainder of problems; only use working memory
      • Practicing retrieval makes a path from LTM to working memory
    • Discriminative-Contrast Hypothesis
      • Practice one skill over and over; doesn’t differentiate between them
  • Johns Hopkins
    • manipulate computer cursor
    • device you squeeze
  • Three groups
    • Group 1
      • practice exercise
      • 3x over course of two days
    • Group 2
      • two slightly different practice routines
    • Group 3
      • Control
      • 1 practice session
  • Results
    • Variety works best
    • Slightly modified versions
    • Learn more
    • Learn faster (2x faster)
  • Notes
    • Not radically alter your practice
    • too different, no gain
    • Not switching from batting to fielding
    • hitting a different sort of pitch
    • Hobbies can help your work
  • Massed Practice
  • Distributed Practice
  • Deliberate Practice

4.  Fast & Slow

  • Daniel Kahneman
  • Thinking Fast and Slow, says that, “…acquisition of skills requires
    • regular environment
    • adequate opportunity to practice
    • rapid and unequivocal feedback
  • Start with a guide
    • YouTube
    • Tutorials, guides
    • Books about fishing
  • Explore on your own

5. Tips

  • Post-Op Analysis
    • incident: assess chain of events that took place
    • football game
    • after-action review: debriefing of what happened, why it happened and how it can be done better (US Army)
  • Study the material
    • know how to solve problem or perform the skill
  • Avoid flow
    • When you feel the sensation, switch
  • Review
    • Mix in old material
    • Mix up your practice material
  • Track your progress
    • Particularly for long-term strategies
  • Interleaving or distributed practice
    • Baddeley’s typing
    • might just be too hard to implement
  • Small gains
  • Fail
    • Push a button and see what happens
    • Experiment: “productive failure”
    • Learning by doing
    • Experiential learning
  • Distributed Practice
    • Spread Out Learning Over Time
    • 1 hr per day
  • Quiz yourself before test
    • Not underling or rereading
  • When matters
    • when you study or practice is important
    • internal clock
    • learn best when we do so before sleep
    • night or naps
  • Be unique: whatever works for you

 

        • witching from batting to fielding
          • hitting a different sort of pitch
        • Hobbies can help your work
  • Tips
    • Study the material
      • know how to solve problem or perform the skill
    • Avoid flow
      • When you feel the sensation, switch
    • Review
      • Mix in old material
      • Mix up your practice material
    • Track your progress
      • Particularly for long-term strategies
      • Interleaving or distributed practice
      • Baddeley’s typing
      • might just be too hard to implement
    • Small gains
    • Daniel Kahneman
      • Thinking Fast and Slow, says that, “…acquisition of skills requires
        • regular environment
        • adequate opportunity to practice
        • rapid and unequivocal feedback
    • Start with a guide
      • YouTube
      • Tutorials, guides
      • Books about fishing
    • Explore on your own
      • Fail
      • Push a button and see what happens
      • Experiment: “productive failure”
      • Learning by doing
      • Experiential learning
    • Distributed Practice
      • Spread Out Learning Over Time
      • 1 hr per day
    • Quiz yourself before test
      • Delayed retrieval
      • Not underling or rereading
    • When matters
      • When you study or practice is important
      • internal clock
      • learn best when we do so before sleep
      • night or naps
    • Be unique
      • Whatever works for you