THEORIES

Mnemonic Strategies- techniques used to aid memory

External Memory Aids: Using something outside the person such as notes
Rehearsal: Conscious repetition
Organization: Categorizing material
Elaboration: Making mental associations
Selective Attention- ability to concentrate on relevant information and ignore distractions (focusing)
Divided Attention- ability to concentrate on more than one thing simultaneously (multi-tasking)
Multiple Intelligences- Gardners theory that each person has several distinct forms of intelligence
Logical-Mathematical
Convergent Thinking- thinking aimed at finding the one right answer to a problem- kind of thinking
emphasized on intelligence tests and most academic exams,
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy- expectation or prediction of students performance that tends to come true
because it leads teacher to act as if it already were true.
Postformal Thought- thinking that represents an advance beyond Piagets last stage of cognitive
development- relies on subjective experience and intuition as well as logic- is useful in dealing with
ambiguity, uncertainty, inconsistency, contradiction, etc.
Counter-Factual Thinking- imagining alternative scenarios and outcomes that might have happened
but did not
Social Comparison Theory- we evaluate happiness/misery by comparing ourselves to other people
Adaption Level Theory- we evaluate happiness/misery by comparing current experiences to past
experiences
Substantive Complexity- degree to which a persons work requires thought and independent
judgment- fosters continued cognitive development
Triangular Theory of Love- Sternbergs theory that patterns of love hinge on the balance among three
elements- intimacy, passion, and commitment
Marital Success- success associated with how partners communicate, how they make decisions, and
how they deal with conflict

Throughout this semester, I have learned so many different theories, concepts, and principles of human
development. I learned the periods of development starting from birth going all the way till death. The material
we learned in class has made me realize many things about my past, present, and future. What causes certain
things to happen and what will make me successful in the future. The six theories, concepts, and principles I
will be talking about are: Mnemonic Strategies, Selective and Divided Attention, Multiple Intelligences,
Postformal Thought, Counter-Factual Thinking, and Social Comparison Theory.
Mnemonic Strategies- techniques used to aid memory
External Memory Aids: Using something outside the person such as notes
Rehearsal: Conscious repetition
Organization: Categorizing material
Elaboration: Making mental associations
Every time I study for tests/quizzes, I use or make up songs or expressions to remember. This is the result of
Mnemonic Strategies. I realized that I have been doing this all my life. For instance, when I was little, I learned
the ABC song to remember the alphabets in order. Growing up, I started using PEMDAS, or Please Excuse My
Dear Aunt Sally, for math to learn the order of operations. After this, came FANBOYS, For-And-Nor-But-OrYet-So, for remembering the seven coordinating conjunctions in English. These Mnemonics are still used
today. I grew up learning this is the way to memorize what you want, and so whenever I have to memorize
something, I usually make up expressions to remember. For example, I needed to learn the four important parts
of Yoga, which were Flexibility, Balance, Strength, and Relaxation. To remember this, I used: Friends-BrotherSister-Relationships. The use of Mnemonics helped and continues to help me throughout my life in school.
Because of this way of studying that assists me in memorizing the material, I am a better student.
Selective Attention- ability to concentrate on relevant information and ignore distractions (focusing)
Divided Attention- ability to concentrate on more than one thing simultaneously (multi-tasking)
There are two types of Attention we learned in class, Selective and Divided. Selective Attention is the ability to
concentrate on relevant information and ignore distractions, whereas Divided Attention is the ability to
concentrate on more than one thing simultaneously. In simple terms, Selective is focusing on one particular
thing, while Divided is multi-tasking. For me, I do not have one or the other, but rather both, and which one I
use tends to depend on the situation. I am trying to pursue a career in the fields of accounting and finance. I
believe that in this case, I should use Selective Attention rather than Divided Attention because I have to work
with numbers and therefore I have to be careful not to mess up on switching any numbers and making errors. I
know that soon when I get a job at finance or accounting firm, I will be using Selective Attention because it is
best to focus on one particular thing for my job.
Multiple Intelligences- Gardners theory that each person has several distinct forms of intelligence
Logical-Mathematical
Another theory I would like to discuss is Howard Gardners theory on multiple intelligences. He believes that
each person has several distinct forms of intelligence. The eight forms he discusses are: linguistic, logicalmathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Even though
everyone has various intelligences, they still can be particularly strong in a specific area. Speaking for me, the
form I am strong on is logical-mathematical. I think of cause and effect and understand relationships among
actions, objects, or ideas. I also am able to calculate, quantify, consider propositions, and perform complex
mathematical or logical operations. Another skill I have is problem-solving. This will help me in my future
because as I said before, I am trying to major in accounting and finance. My ability to work with numbers for
mathematical operations will aid in my professional life.

 Postformal Thought- thinking that represents an advance beyond Piagets last stage of cognitive
development- relies on subjective experience and intuition as well as logic- is useful in dealing with
ambiguity, uncertainty, inconsistency, contradiction, etc.
We have talked about many different theorists, but one famous theorist in human development is Jane Piaget.
Her theory of Postformal Thought is basically a thinking that is useful in dealing with ambiguity, uncertainty,
inconsistency, contradiction, etc. Postformal thinking involves making decisions based on situational
constraints and circumstances, and integrating emotion with logic to form context-dependent principles. It
helps young adults make sound decisions in situations that do not always call for absolutes. For example, when
I was looking online to buy tickets to front row seats at a WWE match, Postformal Thought allowed me to
reason out certain decisions over others. Could I truly afford the tickets and would impulse buying affect
anyone else? It is these ambiguous situations that call for Postformal Thought. This helped me not make any
rash decisions and focus on what would be best for me.
Counter-Factual Thinking- imagining alternative scenarios and outcomes that might have happened
but did not
A concept I thought was important in young adulthood is Counter-Factual Thinking, imagining alternative
scenarios and outcomes that might have happened but did not. After accomplishing something, people either
think at least I made it or I couldve done better if For instance, when I got into a car accident, I
imagined what would have happened if I didn't have my seatbelt on. Could I have been killed? This train of
thought definitely impacted how I felt about the accident. Counter-Factual Thinking has a big impact on our
emotional response to an experience. It causes tension by highlighting something about the other person that
will cause dissonance, and then offers a new thought that can replace the uncomfortable thought. It
encourages them to accept the new thought. This helps in our everyday lives by thinking of ways things
could have gone better and worse.
Social Comparison Theory- we evaluate happiness/misery by comparing ourselves to other people
Often times, we look at others to see where we are at, and this is actually a theory called Social Comparison
Theory. This theory states that we evaluate happiness/misery by comparing ourselves to other people. A good
example for this would be test scores. I tend to compare my grade with others to see if I did well, okay, or bad.
If I got a B, whereas everyone got an A, I would be pretty sad, but if everyone got a C, I would be really happy.
This is not only used with test scores, but life itself. I sometimes compare my life and where I am
professionally with my career and my college to people my age. I think of it as a goal when I see people my
age doing much better than me in life, because it motivates me to try harder and do my best. This actually
helps me a lot and I believe this would make me successful.
All six of these theories or concepts have or will affect my life in some way in the past, present, and future. It
causes me to think about my life in the future and try to be a successful person. I will use these in my everyday
life. These help and will help me be a better professional and student in the real world. By using these terms, I
will focus better on my job and be a better student.

 Convergent Thinking- thinking aimed at finding the one right answer to a problem- kind of thinking
emphasized on intelligence tests and most academic exams,
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy- expectation or prediction of students performance that tends to come true
because it leads teacher to act as if it already were true.
Adaption Level Theory- we evaluate happiness/misery by comparing current experiences to past
experiences
Substantive Complexity- degree to which a persons work requires thought and independent
judgment- fosters continued cognitive development
Triangular Theory of Love- Sternbergs theory that patterns of love hinge on the balance among three
elements- intimacy, passion, and commitment
Marital Success- success associated with how partners communicate, how they make decisions, and
how they deal with conflict