The Scientific Attitude

• Scientific approach that is skeptical and open-minded
• To shift away from illusions to reality, one must use Smart thinking or critical thinking: thinking that does not blindly accept things, but approaches with skepticism and examines the evidence carefully; Ask how did they know, on guts and instinct? Are the evidence biased?
• However, must remember to have humility as too extreme would be stubbornness

 

The Limits of Intuition and Common Sense

• Intuition often ends up nowhere
• Tend to use a lot hindsight bias: tendency to believe that one would have known it after the results are shown;
• Seems like common sense;  The answer was right there and look how obvious it was
• Experience it usually when looking back on history; eg. Glen Clark and the fast ferries
• Humans tend to be overconfident, think we know more than we actually do (probably result of self-serving bias)
• Hindsight causes us to be overconfident as we believe we would have picked the answer when the results are in front of us

 

The Scientific Method

• Scientific theory: explanation using set of principles to organise/predict observations
• No matter how good theory sounds, must put it to test
• Must imply testable prediction = hypothesis
• Beware of bias when testing
• Good experiment can be replicated: the experiment can be repeated and would yield constant results; done with a different group of people or by a different person ending with constant results
• Theory useful if:

1. effectively organises range of observations
2. implies clear predictions

• Case study: research method where one person is studied in depth to find universal principles (things that apply to all)
• Drawback is that the individual being studied could be atypical, results not universally contained
• Survey: research method to get the self-reported attitudes/behaviours of people
• Looks at cases less depth and wording of question affects the response given (framing)Tend to hang around group similar to us so using them as study is wrong
• False consensus effect: tendency to overestimate other’s agreement with us; eg. Vegetarians believe larger amount of pop. is vegetarian than meat-eaters
• Population: all the cases in the group being studied
• To make a good sample, use random sampling: sample that gives each case a good chance of being studied to ensure results within range
• Naturalistic observation: observing and recording behaviour in natural settings with any control on situation
• Like case study & survey,  doesn’t explain behaviour
• When finding a trait that accompanies another, not resulting effect, but correlation: the way 2 factors vary together and how well one predicts the other
• Positive correlation: direct relationship where factors increase or decrease together
• Negative correlation: inverse relationship where one factor goes up while one goes down
• Does not explain cause, simply show relationship between factors
• Illusory correlation: perceiving correlation when none exist; Notice random coincidences as not random, rather as correlated

 

Experiment

• To isolate cause & effect, conduct experiments
• Experimental condition: condition that exposes subjects to treatment
• Control condition: condition that serves as a comparison to see effects of treatment on experimental condition subjects
• Use random assignment: assigning subjects to experimental/control groups randomly to ensure no bias
• Independent variable: experimental factor being manipulated and studied (by itself, alone, no need to depend on something)  * x-axis
• Dependent variable: experimental factor that depends on independent variable and changes in response to it * y- axis
• Placebo: an inert substance/condition that maybe administered instead of a presumed active agent
• Double-blind procedure: procedure in which the experimenter and the subject noth don't know which treatment is given

• Franz Gall developed the false theory called Phrenology – where bumps on the head dictate personality and intelligence. But the theory did direct our attention to brain region and function.
• Psychologists that study these connections between biology and behavior are called Biological Psychologists.

 
Neural Communication

• Our Neural System is basically made up of nerve cells or neurons. Each neuron is composed of Dendrites ~ message receiving fibers and Axons ~ message sending fibers which are insulated by the Myelin Sheath ~ fatty cells that help \speed up impulses.
• Impulses or Action Potential is a brief electrical charge that travels down the axon as it becomes Depolarized due to the movement of positively charged ions entering the axon. After the transmission, the axon becomes Polarized as positive ions are pumped out during the Refractory Period.
• The intensity of a stimulus is called the Threshold. A stimulus must exceed the threshold in order for a transmission to occur. The neuron will either fire or it won’t. Much like a gun, the neuron either fires or it doesn’t, there are no half-fires. This is called the all-or-none-response; if a stimulus is really strong, only the number of neurons firing will increase, not their speed.
• The axon terminal of the sending neuron is separated from the receiving neuron by a tiny gap called the Synapse (or Synaptic Cleft). Once the action potential reaches the synapse, neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers, are released into the gap where it will bind onto specific receptor sites on the receiving neuron.
• The most well know neurotransmitter is Acetylcholine (ACh), it causes muscles to contract in movement.
• Endorphins are natural opiates produced in the body to control pain and induce pleasure. ("Morphine within")
• Agonists are molecules which mimics the shape of natural neurotransmitters (Morphine)
• Antagonists are molecules which block neurotransmitters from binding on receptor sites
• The brain has a Blood-brain barrier which filters out unwanted chemicals in blood stream.

 
Neural and Hormonal Systems

•  The Nervous System is composed of the Central Nervous System (CNS) – brain and spinal cord, and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) – links CNS to body’s muscles and glands by means of nerves which are bundles of sensory and Motor Neurons (they carry incoming and outgoing information respectively).
•  The Autonomic Nervous System (under PNS) has Sympathetic Nervous System – arouses the body for defense (increase heartbeat, dilating pupils, inhibit digestion etc.) and Parasympathetic Nervous System – calms the body after stress.
•  A simple Reflex is an automatic response to stimuli (like knee-jerk) involving messages from Sensory to  Interneuron (Spinal Cord) to Motor Neuron.
• The Endocrine System (slow hormone secreting system) communicates by releasing Hormones (chemical messengers) into the bloodstream.
• In times of stress the ANS will signal Adrenal Glands (above kidney) to release epinephrine and norepinephrine hormones (also called adrenaline and noradrenaline.)
•  Pituitary gland is the most powerful endocrine gland, and under the influence of hypothalamus in brain, pituitary releases hormones that regulate glands and growth.

 
The Brain

• Lesions – remove brain tissue
• Electroencephalogram (EEG) – measures brain electric activity
• Computed Tomograph (CT or CAT Scan) – taking x-ray photographs of brain
• Positron emission tomograph (PET Scan) – detects radioactive glucose consumption in brain
• Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) – generates brain images from magnetic activity
• The brainstem – oldest portion in brain forms into the Medulla Oblongata – regulates involuntary processes like heartbeat and breathing.
• Within the brainstem lies the reticular formation (looks like a finger-shaped net) which controls arousal, when you wake or sleep.
• The Thalamus lies above brainstem and is shaped like two eggs. Its function is to act as a sensory switchboard relaying incoming signals to appropriate brain regions. But does not relay sensory signals dealing with smell.
• The Cerebellum stores partial memory and learning capacities. But it mainly controls balance.
• Limbic System includes Amygdala – influence emotions (fear, anger), and the Hippocampus – process memory . Removal of amygdala results in emotionless organisms upon arousal.
• The Hypothalamus maintains body homeostasis (temperature, hunger, growth) and governs pituitary.
• Glial cells guide and support nerve cells in the brain.
• The brain is divided into 4 regions.
• Frontal Lobe – behind forehead – has Motor Cortex (located at the back of frontal lobe, the cortex controls voluntary movement)
• Parietal Lobe – top to back of head – has Sensory Cortex (located in the beginning of parietal lobe, the cortex processes \bodily senses)
• Occipital Lobe – back of head – regulates vision.
• Temporal Lobe – above ears – regulates hearing
• ¾ of the brain is uncommitted to motor or sensory functions. Theses brain regions are called Association Areas – areas involved in thinking, remembering, and speaking. The larger the association area, the more intelligent the species for they are able to anticipate future events.
• The case with Phineas Gage showed researchers that damages in the frontal lobe could result in personality alterations because their normal "restraints" or inhibitions are erased. This was due to a tamping rod that shot from his left cheek and out his head, separating his internal motives and external judgement.
• Stages of Language :

1. Visual Cortex – occipital lobe (back of head) – sees the visual stimulation (words)
2. Angular Gyrus – mid-side of parietal lobe – converts words into auditory code
3. Wernicke’s Area – between temporal and parietal lobe (side of head) - derives meaning from auditory code
4. Broca’s Area – mid-bottom of frontal lobe – controls motor cortex
5. Motor Cortex – back of frontal lobe – activates speech muscles to pronounce word

•  Damage to (1) cannot see, (2) cannot read, (3) cannot understand, (4) and (5) cannot speak.
• Corpus Callosum joins the two hemispheres and is separated to cure epileptic seizures.
• People with separated corpus callosums are referred to as Spilt-brain patients. They are unable to say what they see in their left visual field because speech is in left hemisphere and the hemispheres regulate opposite sides of body.
• When split-brainers are asked to say what they saw, the left hemisphere will say what is seen in right visual field; when asked to point, get, or write what they saw, the right hemisphere will dictate what is seen in the left visual field.
• Sign language is nevertheless language and is control by left hemisphere, if deaf people get a stroke in left hemisphere, signing will be disrupted.
• Left Hemisphere : Mathematics, language, logical, reasoning. meaning
• Right Hemisphere : Perceptual tasks, musical, artistic, emotion, face recognition, copying information.

 
Genetics and Behavior

• Chromosomes contain Genes which are made up of DNA. There are 23 chromosomes in human egg and sperm; they are combined (fertilized) to make a 46 chromosome cell.
• Evolutionary Psychologists study the effects of evolution of behavior of organisms.
• Behavior Geneticists study genetic and environmental effects on behavior. – using Linkage Analysis.
• Psychologists study Identical Twins (two babies within one egg) and Fraternal Twins (two babies in 2 separate eggs) to contrast adoption studies.
• Identical twins have more similarities than fraternal twins.
• Hertitability tell us what percentage of traits are because of genetic factors. Traits (height, intelligence, eye color etc.) are either due to genetic or environment there are no half-halves. If heritability of intelligence is 70%, that means 70% of the people will have inherited intelligence.  

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

Prenatal Development and the Newborn

• At 8 weeks after conception, babies are anatomically indistinguishable; 4/5th month different
• Sex determined by 23rd pair of chromosome
• X chromosome: comes from either mother or father; females have two, males have one
• Y chromosome: comes from father, paired with x to form male
• Y chromosome stimulates development of male sex organ by producing testosterone: most important male sex hormone, but females have it too
• Gender: biologically or socially influenced characteristics which people define as male/female
• zygotes: fertilized eggs; less than half survive pass 2 weeks
• after 10 days, zygote attach to mother’s uterine wall and forms placenta for nourishment, zygote becomes embryo:
• developing human from 2 weeks to second month
• after two months, looks human, called fetus: developing human from 2 months to birth
• fetus hears muffled version of mother’s voice and prefers it after birth
• harm can come when placenta gets teratogens: agents that can harm embryo/fetus during prenatal stage; a mother who is a heroin addict will have a heroin addicted baby
• newborns are equipped with reflexes ideal to survival
• rooting reflex: reflex, when touched on cheek, to open mouth and find nipple
• perceptual abilities continue to develop during first month, can distinguish mother’s odour

 
Infancy and Childhood

• maturation: biological growth processes that enable orderly change in behaviour, could be influenced by experiences
• maturation sets the basic course of development and experience adjust it
• lack of neuron connections reason why earliest memories rarely earlier than third birthday (experiences help develop neural connections)
• Rosenzweig and Krech reared some young rats in solitary confinement and others in playground; found those in playground develop thicker and heavier brain cortex
• For optimum development, early years critical –use it or lose it; but development exists through life as neural tissues changes –experiences nurture nature
• plasticity: brain ability to reoganize pathways to compensate damage; if laser damaged spot in cat’s eye, brain area receiving input from spot will start responding to stimulation from nearby areas in eye;  brain hardware changes with time –can rewired with new synapses
• children brains most “plastic” –surplus of neurons
• when neurons are destroyed, nearby ones may partly compensate by making new connections
• experience influences motor behaviour
• experience(nurture) before biological development(nature) has limited effect

 
Cognitive Development

• Cognition: mental activities associated with knowing, thinking, & remembering
• Piaget believed child’s mind develops through series of stages
• Piaget believed children built schemas: concept or framework that organises and interprets info; mental molds into which we pour our experience
• assimilate: interpreting new experience in terms of existing schemas; given schema for dog, child may call 4-legged animals doggies
• to fit new experiences, we accommodate: adapting one’s schemas to incorporate new info; child realises doggies schemas too broad and refines category

 
Piaget’s 4 stages of Cognitive Development

1.    Sensorimotor Stage (Birth – 2 years old)

• Infants know world in terms of sensory impressions and motor activities
• Lack objective permanence: awareness that things continue to exist when not perceived; Baby believes toy only exists when it is starring at it

2.    Preoperational Stage (preschool – 6/7 years old)

• Child learns to use language, but aren’t able to comprehend mental operations of concrete logic; lacks conservation: principle that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape; water from tall, thin glass poured into wide, flat glass would be the same
• Children are egocentric: inability to see another’s point of view

3.    Concrete Operational Stage (6/7 – 11 years old)

• Children gain mental operations that enable logical thinking about concrete events; understands conservation and mathematical transformation (reversing arithmetic operations)

4.    Formal Operational Stage (12 years -life)

• Reasoning expands from concrete (involving actual experiences) to abstract thinking (involving imagined realities and symbols)
• Children able to solve hypothetical situations and its consequences
• researchers believe development more continuous than did Piaget

 
Social Development

• infants develop intense bond with those who care for them; prefers familiar faces and voices
• after object permanence, develop stranger anxiety: fear of strangers commonly displayed after 8 months of age
• attachment: emotional tie with another person; shown by child seeking closeness to caregiver (those who are comfortable, familiar, and responsive to needs) and distress when seperated
• psychologists use to believe attachment through need for nourishment, but now consider wrong
• Harlow’s Monkey Studies: Harry Harlow bred monkeys of which he separates from mothers shortly after birth; in cages were a cheesecloth baby blanket; baby monkeys formed intense attachment to blanket –distressed when taken away; later, Harlow created 2 artificial mothers (“Harlow’s Mothers”), one bare wire cylinder with wooden head, other a cylinder wrapped with terry cloth; when reared with nourishing wire mother and nonnourishing cloth mother, monkeys preferred cloth mother; concluded body contact more important than nourishment
• Critical period: an optimal period shortly after birth when organism’s exposure to certain stimuli/experience produces proper development; first moving object a duckling sees is mother, then follows only it
• Developmental psychologists believe humans don’t have precise critical period
• Imprinting: process by which certain animals form attachment during critical period; humans don’t imprint, but becomes attached to “known”
• Temperament: person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity;  temperaments endure; ex. easy-going, quiet, placid
• Heredity predispose human differences; anxious infants have high heart rates and reactive nervous system;  identical twins more likely to have similar temperaments than nonidentical
• Sensitive, responsive mothers have infants who are securely attached while the opposite (attend only when felt like doing and ignores at other times) have infants who are insecurely attached
• Anxiety over separation from parents peak at 13 months and gradually declines after
• Erik Erikson claims securely attached children approach life with sense of basic trust: sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy
• Deprivation of attachment causes withdraw, fear, and other negative consequences; most abusive parents have been neglected/battered as children
• Many developmentalists believe quality infant day care doesn’t hinder secure attachement
• Divorces place children at increased risk for developing social, psychological, behavioral, and academic problems
• By age 12, most children develop  self concept: sense of one’s identity and personal worth
• Children’s views of themselves affect actions; positive self-concept produces confidence, independence, optimism

 

Child-Rearing Practices

• Authoritarian parents: imposes rules and expect obedience; Why? Because I said so!
• Authoritative parents: demanding, yet responsive; exert control by both setting rules and explaining reasons; encourages open discussion and allowing exceptions when making rules
• Permissive parents: submit to children’s desires, make few demands, and use little punishment
• Rejecting-neglecting parents: disengaged –expect little and invest little
• Children of authoritative parents have the highest self-esteem, self-reliance, and social competence
• Authoritative parenting seems to give children greatest sense of control which yields motivation and self-confidence

 

Gender

• Gender identity: one’s sense of being male or female
• Gender-typing: acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
• Social learning theory: theory that one learns social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded/punished;  Mother tells daughter that she is being “a good mommy” to her doll
• Gender schema theory: theory that children learn from their cultures a concept of what a male/female is and adjust their behavior accordingly
• Genes and experiences intertwine; we are the product of  interactions between our genetic predispositions and our surrounding environments

 
Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

Adolescence

• Adolescence: transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
• Due to improved nutrition, sexual maturation occurs earlier nowadays
• Psychologists note that adolescence is often marked by mood swings
• Begins with puberty: period of sexual maturation, during which one first becomes capable of reproducing; 2-year period of rapid development usually beginning in girls at age 11 and in boys at age 13
• Primary sex characteristics: body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible
• Secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive sexual characteristics –female breasts and hips, male voice quality and body hair
• Landmarks of puberty for boys are first ejaculation at about 14 and first menstrual period for girls at about 13
• Menarche: first menstrual period
• Although variation in the timing of growth spurt has little effect in height, there are psychological consequences
• Early maturation is good for boys –stronger, more athletic, and tend to be more popular, self-assured, and independent
• Early maturation for girls is stressful; but later when peers catch up, helps enjoy greater prestige and self-confidence
• Reasoning is often self-focused –may believe private experiences are unique and no one understands the feelings

Kohlberg’s Moral Ladder

1.    Preconventional morality (before age 9)

• Obey to either avoid punishment or to gain concrete rewards;  If you don’t feed the dog, he will die;  If you do the dishes, you can have desert

2.    Conventional morality (by early adolescence)

• Morality evolves to a more conventional level that upholds laws simply because they are laws and rules; since able to see others’ perspectives, follow actions that gain social approval or maintain social order;  if you steal, everyone would think you are a thief

3.    Postconventional morality

• Those who develop abstract reasoning of formal operational thought; follow what affirms people’s rights or what one personally perceives as basic ethical principles;  if you steal the drugs, you would not have lived up to your own ideal;  Robin Hood is a hero because he stole from the rich for the poor
• As our thinking matures, our behavior becomes less selfish and more caring
• To refine sense of identity, adolescents in western cultures try out different “selves”
• Different selves gradually reshape to form identity: one’s sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
• Identity searching continues past teen years; as it becomes clearer, self-esteem increases
• Erikson contended that after identity stage is developing capacity for intimacy: ability to form close, loving relationships; primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood
• As identity is formed, separation from parents occur

 

Adulthood

• Physical abilities peak in early adulthood; world-class sprinters and swimmers peak in their teens or early twenties; but decline of abilities not noticed till later in life
• Women, because of early maturation, peak earlier than men
• Foremost biological sign of aging in women is menopause: time of natural cessation of menstruation; refers to biological changes a women experiences as ability to reproduce declines
• Menopause does not usually create psychological problems for women
• Women’s expectations and attitudes regarding menopause influence its emotional impact
• Men experience decline in sperm count, testosterone level, and speed of erection and ejaculation
• With age, eye’s pupil shrinks and lens becomes less transparent –reducing light reaching retina
• Disease-fighting immune system weakens –more susceptible to life-threatening disease; but due to  lifetime collection of antibodies, less suffering of short-term ailments
• Since early adulthood, small, gradual loss of brain cells, but can be compensated by active growth of neural connections in people who remain active
• Some do suffer brain ailment such as Alzheimer’s disease: progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and physical functions; deterioration of neurons that produce neurotransmitter acetylcholine
• Hard for older people to recall meaningless info, but if it is meaningful, their rich web of existing knowledge helps them catch it
• Cross-sectional study: study in which people of different ages are compared with one another;  cross the age groups
• Show that younger people do better than older ones
• Longitudinal study: research in which same people are restudied and retested over long period;  a group of people for a long time
• Show that until late in life, intelligence remains stable
• Found that because cross-sectional use people of different eras, other variables may skew the results; but longitudinal may be at fault as those who survive the end of test may be the healthiest, smartest
• Conclude that whether intelligence increases/decreases depends on type of intellectual preformance measured
• Crystallized intelligence: one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills;  tends to increase with age;  As time passes, “hardens” = stronger (increases with time)
• Fluid Intelligence: one’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly;  tends to decrease with age
• Types of intelligence explain why mathematicians and scientists produce creative work in early adulthood while those in literature produce best work in late adulthood
• Social clock: culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
• 2 basic aspects of lives dominate adulthood: intimacy (forming close relationships) and generativity (being productive and supporting future generations)
• Children are the most enduring of life changes
• When children leave home, the empty nest is for most people a happy place and they report greater happiness and enjoyment of marriage
• People of all ages report similar levels of happiness and satisfaction with life; teenagers have quick changing range of moods while adults have less extreme, but more enduring moods

Death and Dying

• Elisabeth Kubler-Ross proposed that terminally ill pass through 5 stages (Dabda):
• Denial; unacceptance of ill
• Anger or resentment;  Why me?
• Bargaining;  with God
• Depression;  loss of everything and everyone
• Acceptance; peaceful, accepting one’s fate

 
Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

 

Sensation  is referred to as being bottom-up processing, detecting environmental stimuli from senses up to the brain.
 

Sensing the World: Some Basic Principles

• An Absolute Threshold is the lowest amount of stimulus needed to notice it  50% of the time. For example, you turn down the radio to a point where you only hear the faint sound half the time.  Then that loudness (decibel) is your absolute threshold for sound.
• But your detection of a stimulus also depends on your state of arousal, expectations, experiences, and motivation. This is described by the Signal Detection Theory – predicting when we will notice a weak stimulus (signal).
• A stimulus is Subliminal if it is below your absolute threshold, you detect it less than 50% of the time.  For instance, a microscopic cell is subliminal to you because you cannot see it with your naked eye.
• Subliminal advertisements (Drink Coke, eat popcorn etc.), does have an affect on you but  do not persuade you.
• The Difference Threshold (just noticeable difference or jnd) is the lowest difference you can detect between 2 stimuli 50% of the time.  For example, you are just able to notice the difference between 1kg and 1.02kg half the time.
• Weber’s Law states that two stimuli must differ in percentages or ratios, not amount, for a person to detect it (jnd).
• Sensory Adaptation –  lowered sensitivity due to constant exposure from a stimulus. For example, when you go into someone’s house you notice an odor…but this only lasts for a little while because sensory adaptation allows you to focus your attention on changing environment;  it is irritating to be constantly reminded that your foot is in contact with the floor.

Vision

• Transduction  refers to Sensory energy being convert (transformed) into Neural energy/impulses.
• Light is composed of electromagnetic waves with Wavelengths (distance from one peak to another peak on a wave) and Amplitudes (height of the wave)
• WAVELENGTH  determines   HUE  (Color, i.e. Red, Blue, Green) and PITCH/FREQUENCY  in sound.
• AMPLITUDE       determines   INTENSITY  (Brightness, i.e. Bright red, dark red) and  LOUDNESS in sound.
• External Light entering the eye first travels through the Cornea (protective layer)  ~ Pupil  (an adjustable opening) control by Iris (muscle around the pupil) ~ Lens (an oval transparency) that changes shape to focus light by a process called Accommodation; light is then focused onto the back of the eye called Retina (multi-neuron surface).
• There are 3 basic types of Acuity (how sharp/clear vision is) : normal, nearsightedness (only see near things clearly), and farsightedness (only see far things clearly)
• The Retina has 2 types of receptor cells :  Rods  (detect brightness of light, sensitive in dark), Cones (detect color and detail, sensitive in daylight).  Cells connecting these detectors form the Optic Nerve that sends the impulses to brain.
• Everyone has a Blind Spot, a small region in the visual field where nothing could be seen.  This is because there are no receptor cells where the optic nerve leaves the eye in the retina.  Normally, we don’t witness this effect because we have two eyes that compensate for each other’s blind spot, and the fact that our eyes are constantly moving.
• Fovea is the region in the retina where light is centrally focused.  The fovea has no rods, only cones.
• Nobel prize winners Hubel and Wiesel discovered Feature Detectors in the brain cortex that are sensitive to specific features in what we see (i.e. shape, color, depth, movement, form, and even postures, arm angle, gaze).
• Parallel Processing -  Our brain Processes lots of information  simultaneously.  For example, looking at an orange, the brain processes the orange color, the round shape, and the bumpy texture all at the same time.
• People who cannot consciously perceive can still remarkably locate objects but are consciously unaware of how they knew.  Such a phenomenon is called  Blind Sight.
• Color processing is described in 2 stages : 1)  Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory – Light is detected by 3 types of cones each specifically sensitive to Red, Blue, or Green. Combinations of them produce intermediate colors (yellow, cyan, purple) 2)  Opponent-Process theory – Color is then processed by their opponent colors (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white). Some cells are excited by blue and inhibited by yellow, vice versa. Thus, you cannot see a bluish-yellow.
• Color constancy  refers to the importance of surrounding background effects on perceived color.  Color constancy states that colors don’t look different even in different illumination (i.e. sunlight or dark room).Green leaves will still be green whether on a clear or cloudy day.

Hearing

• Frequency (Pitch) is the number of waves travelling through a point in one second, relates to how fast a wave travels.
• Audition, or hearing, requires sounds waves converted into neural impulses, and this is done in the ear.
• Sound travels through the 3 sections of the ear to the brain :
• OUTER EAR :  Auditory Canal
• MIDDLE EAR: Ear drum (tight membrane) ~ Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup (3 small bones connected to ear drum that vibrates when sound waves hit ear drum)
• INNER EAR :   Cochlea (coiled, fluid-filled tube) that contains the Basilar Membrane, which is lined with hair cells that vibrates to excite nerve fibers.  The fibers form the Auditory Canal connecting to the brain.
• Place theory says that we hear different pitches because specific “places” in the cochlea are stimulated.
• Frequency theory says that we hear different pitches because the speed of neural impulses travelling to the brain matches the speed of the sound waves (“frequency”).
• We can tell which direction a sound is coming from because if  it is closer to our right ear, the right ear will receive the sound slightly faster than left ear and the brain calculates this difference.  Consequently, if the sound is directly
• behind or in front, where the distance between 2 ears is the same, then it is difficult to differentiate.
• Conduction Deafness  – loss of hearing due to damage of eardrum, and/or the tiny bones in middle ear. (Could be fixed by hearing aid)
• Nerve Deafness – loss of hearing due to damage to cochlea, basilar membrane, and/or hair cells in the inner ear. (Could be fixed by a bionic ear, implanting a cochlea)

The Other Senses

• Touch is composed of 4 senses : Warmth, Pain, Cold, and Pressure  (the only sense with identifiable receptors. The other three don’t have specific receptors)
• Combinations of these create amazing feelings. I.e. Warmth and Cold = HOT
• Pressure and Cold = WET
• Pressure and Pain =  TICKLING ITCH
• Phantom Limb Sensations  occur when pain is felt in a nonexistent limb.  Even though the leg is not present, the recepting neurons previously connected to them are still there.  And they will fire, resulting in pain sensations.
• The Gate-Control Theory states that the spinal cord has “gates” that opens/closes to transmit pain impulses.  Small fibers open Gate = pain.  Large fibers close Gate = no pain.
• Pain is merely a physical and psychological interpretation.  Distraction methods, where attention is focused elsewhere, can ease the felt pain.  Acupuncture(may affect gate-control), electrical stimulation, exercise can also relieve pain.
• Taste is a Chemical Sense composed of 4 basic senses : Sweet, Sour, Salty, and Bitter.
• Taste receptors (taste buds) regenerate every 1 or 2 weeks, but age, smoking, and alcohol will lower taste bud number and sensitivity.
• Sensory Interaction is when one sense affects another sense, thus interacting. For example, tasting apples and potatoes seem the same if we cannot see it or smell it.
• Smell or  Olfaction  is also a  Chemical Sense that  directly transmits information from nose to the temporal lobe. The only sense that doesn’t first relay impulses to the Thalamus.
• Kinesthesis (using sensors in muscles, tendons, and joints) while, Vastibular sense (using fluids in semicircular canal, cochlea, and vestibular sacs in inner ear), both senses our position, movement, and balance.

Sensory Restriction

• Psychologists use REST (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy), where you are put into a warm bath with eyes closed, or in a totally dark room, to lower stimulation and reduce stress, or unwanted behaviors (i.e. drinking).

 
Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998
 

Selective Attention

• Selective attention: focusing only on one thing at a time; focused awareness only on limited aspect of all that is capable of experiencing; you aren’t aware of nose in line of vision
• Cocktail Party Effect: (example of selective attention) ability to focus only on one voice in a huge crowd
• Unnoticed stimuli has effect: women who had listened to tunes previously played to them while unnoticed preferred it later on

Perceptual Illusions

• Visual capture: phenomenon when a conflict occurs between vision and another sense, vision dominates; vision captures other senses (overrides)
• in theaters, sound comes from behind (projector), yet perceive as from screen
• Perceiving voice coming from ventriloquist’s dummy

Perceptual Organization

• Humans organize clusters of sensation into gestalt: organized “whole”; human tendency to order pieces of info into a meaning picture
• First perceptual task: to perceive figure (object) as  distinct from  ground (background)
• Figure-ground: organization of visual field into the figure(s) that stand out from the ground
• Next, organize figure into meaningful form (color, movement, like-dark contrast)
• To process forms, use grouping: rules mind follows to organize stimuli into logical groups
• Grouped into  Proximity,  Similarity, Continuity, Closure, Connectedness (visuals on page 185, figure 6.5 and definition on page 186 of 5 edition)
• Depth perception: ability to see objects in 3D even though image sensed by retina are 2D; allows distance judgment;
• partly innate (born with)
• Gibson and Walker placed 6-14 months old infants on edge of a visual cliff (table half glass, half wood), making the appearance of a drop-off; Mothers then tries to convince infant to crawl pass the normal part of the table onto glass; most refused, indicating perception of depth
• Visual cliff: laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants/animals
• Binocular cues: depth cues that depend on both eyes
• Eyes apart, slightly different images, brain sees difference –retinal disparity: bi cue in which the greater the difference between images, the closer the object
• Convergence: bi cue in which the more the eyes turns inward, the closer the object
• Monocular cues: distance cue that are available to either eye
• Examples: relative size, interposition,  relative clarity,  texture gradient, relative height, relative motion, linear perspective, relative brightness  (definitions on pages 188-189 of 5 edition)
• Brain computes motion base partly on assumption that objects moving away is shrinking & vise versa
• Brain reads rapid series of slightly different images as movement; phenomenon called stroboscopic movement
• Another illusion of movement is phi phenomenon: perception of movement when lights blink one after the other; the lighted arrow signs on the back of parked construction trucks
• Perceptual constancy: perception that objects are not changing even under different lighting; allowing identification regardless of angle of view [a door is a door even at 45 degree (shape constancy) angle or 20 feet away(size constancy)]
• Even at same size, linear perspective causes one to see one object bigger (page 191 figure 6.13a)

Interpretation

• Formerly blind patients often can’t recognize objects familiar by touch
• Sensory restriction like allowing only diffuse, unpatterned light does no damage is occurring later in life; affect only at infancy, suggesting critical period for development
• Perceptual adaptation: ability for our vision to adjust to artificial displacement (chicks do not possess this); given goggles that shift vision 30 degrees to left, humans learn to adjust actions 30 degrees to left
• Roger Sperry surgically turned eyes of animals; found out Fish, Frogs, Salamanders (Note:  reptiles)  CAN’T ADJUST
• while  Kittens, Monkeys, Humans (Note: mammals) ADAPTED
• Expereinces, assumptions, and expectations give us Perceptual set: mental set up to perceive one thing and not another; ufo-looking objects that are really clouds; because can’t resist finding a pattern on unpatterned stimuli
• Much of our perception comes not just from world “out there”, but also from behind the eyes and between the ears

 

ESP

• 50% of americans believe in extrasensory perception (ESP): claim perception occurring without sensory input
• Parapsychology: study of paranormal phenomena (profession called Parapsychologists)
• Three varieties of ESP: Telepathy (sending or reading thoughts), Clairvoyance (perceiving an event unfolding), Precognition (seeing future)
• Vague predictions can later be interpreted to match events; Nostradamus claimed his prophecies could not be interpreted till after the event
• After many experiments, never had a reproducible ESP phenomenon or individual who can convincingly demonstrate psychic ability

 
Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

• During the mid-century, the study of consciousness in psychology ceased.  But by 1960, new advances in neuroscience permitted the study of mental states again.
• Consciousness is a vague concept that is usually defined by psychologists as the awareness of our environment and ourselves.
• Subconscious processing -   processes different information simultaneously (Parallel Processing)
• Conscious processing – processes different information sequentially (Serial Processing), much like passing stages in law making; thus making Conscious processing slow.
• Everyone fantasizes.  Fantasizing (day dreaming) may help reduce stress, increase creativity, and even prepare for future events.
• But some 4% of the population fantasize so vividly that they have a Fantasy-prone personality.  As adults they spend more than half their time fantasizing, which eventually leads to difficulties sorting fantasy from reality.

Sleep and Dreams

• Facts:  Everyone dreams, the difference lies in whether they remembered it or not; Sleepwalkers are not acting out their dreams; Sleeplessness have little affect on motivating tasks.
• Circadian rhythm is our “Biological clock” that runs on a 24-hour day cycle.  But isolated individuals without clocks or daylight usually adopt a 25-hour day cycle.  And if we experience jet lag from travelling, our biological clock will reset to adapt.
• After about 1.5 hours of sleep, our eyes start to move rapidly and jerky accompanied by increased brain activity.  This is called REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement).
• The only time you dream is if you’re in REM sleep, but you can be in REM sleep and not dream.
• Stages of Sleep:

Firstly, before you sleep, you lie in a relaxed state with slow alpha waves showing on the EEG.

1. STAGE 1 – (2 minutes) You experience hallucinations (experiences without real stimuli) such as hyponogoic sensations (floating weightlessly, knee jerks, etc.)
2. STAGE 2 – (20 minutes) You are now actually asleep.  Your brain shows periodic bursts of activity called Sleep Spindles  and “sleep talking” could start now or any stage after this.
3. STAGE 3 – (~15 minutes) Your brain starts showing large and slow delta waves at which you are hard to wake.
4. STAGE 4 – (~15 minutes) You are now in deep sleep and the brain shows even more delta waves.  Bed-wetting and sleep walking can occur.

• After stage 4, your brain goes back to stage 3 then stage 2 then you enter into an excited state – REM sleep
• (paradoxical sleep) After REM, your sleep goes back to stage 2 and the cycle starts again.  Except that REM periods get longer over the night and stage 4 and 3 don’t happen in the couple of hours before you wake.
• Sleep-deprived effects include: suppressed immune systems, decreased creativity, slight hand tremors, slow performance and misperceptions on monotonous tasks.  BUT a sleep-deprived person does as well as anyone on highly motivating tasks (running, arcade games, boxing)
• Sleep helps us regenerate ; our  tissues are restored, energy is conserved, and growth hormones are released from pituitary

 

Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia – Difficulty falling or staying asleep.  REM sleep deprived one day, makes REM sleep longer on the next

(REM Rebound).  Narcolepsy – Suddenly falling asleep (very dangerous, especially when driving).  Sleep Apnea – Suddenly stopped breathing when asleep (mostly overweight men) that would automatically wake you.  Night Terrors – This is not nightmare; when one experience night terrors, terrified appearances are observed and only happens during 2 or 3 hours of sleep in stage 4.  The next morning the person hardly remembers what happened. In contrast, nightmares happen in REM Sleep near the morning.

Dreams

• Using Freudian terms (depicted by Sigmund Freud), Manifest content – what we remembered the dream to be.  This is only the “cover up”; underlying every dream is its true meaning called Latent content – our unaccepting subconscious thoughts and drives.
• One explanation for dreaming is because dreams organize our thoughts and facilitates memory; at the same time dreaming provides constant neural stimulation that preservers our neural pathways.
• Seligman and Yellen (1987) proposed another theory that says dreams are random bursts of activity from the brainstem and the brain tries to make sense of it; thus hallucination images are produced in dreams.
• When we dream the amygdala in the limbic system of the brain is most active (producing emotions).

 
Hypnosis

• Hypnosis  is a state in which you are under the influence of the hypnotist.  He/she may suggest to you that certain behaviors will automatically happen and you, under his/her influence (depending on your degree of susceptibility), will do exactly what is said.
• Hypnosis could be so powerful that the hypnotist can induce Posthypnotic amnesia, temporary not remembering what happened during the hypnosis, as well as Posthypnotic suggestion – told during the hypnotic session, the suggestion is to be carried out when you are not hypnotized.  For example, “After the count of three, you are to awaken and from now on approach every situation with a positive attitude.”
• Hypnosis can  relieve pain and heal soars but it cannot give you super-human abilities; what you can do in hypnosis, you can also do in normal conscious states (with a little positive encouragement)
• Hypnosis relieves pain with a dissociation method (divided consciousness theory) that involves a split (dissociate) between levels of consciousness.  Such as splitting the sensation of pain from emotional pain, so your skin might register the pain but you won’t feel the suffering.
• Another method is described by the Social influence theory, where the subject of hypnosis is merely caught up in “playing his/her role” so that he/she could ignore the pain.
• Since hypnotized people report less pain when their arms are placed in ice water, Ernest Hilgard decided to test if a part of them realizes the pain.  So, when he asked them to press a key if “some part” of them felt pain, they press the key.  So there must be a hidden observer, a split consciousness that involuntarily knows what is happening.

 

Drugs and Consciousness

• Psychoactive drugs – chemicals that change how you think and feel and usually produces a tolerance – using larger and larger doses to experience the same effect.  If this happens, quitting will be very difficult because of unpleasant withdrawal effects that indicate a physical dependence and a psychological dependence on the drug.
• FACTS: Using drugs medically more often don’t cause addiction; addiction is not like a disease and can be overcome voluntarily (without therapy); being addicted to something is not an excuse to be sympathized, you are responsible for your actions.
• Depressants  (drugs that slow and calm neural activity):

1. Alcohol – Impairs judgement and inhibitions and prevents recent events to go into long-term memory.  Also, people who are made to believe they are drinking alcohol exhibited less sexual restraints.
2. Barbiturates – (tranquilizers) This drug is similar to alcohol because it lowers activity in Sympathetic nervous system.  Large doses of barbiturates can cause death.
3. Opiates – (Morphine and  Heroin) Opium derivatives that depress brain activity and brings pleasure with addiction; ultimately leading to death.  The pain of withdrawal is accompanied with these drugs because the brain stops producing its own endorphins and becomes dependent on it.

• Stimulants  (drugs that speed up and excite body activity):

Caffeine, nicotine, Cocaine, and amphetamines – Increasing heart and breathing rates that boost mood or athletic performances.  After the drug wears off, the user will experience a “crash” that involves headaches, tiredness, grouchiness, and even depression.  Of them, Cocaine is the most powerful stimulant in that it blocks re-uptake of dopamine neurotransmitters.  Thus, dopamine remains in the synapse to intensify moods.

• Hallucinogens (Drugs that create distorted perceptions and thoughts without real stimuli):

1. LSD  (PCP) –  “acid” that makes you see shapes, colors, and even out-of-body experiences accompanied by various emotions.
2. Marijuana  – Drug containing an organic compound called THC that can cause relaxation, euphoric high, and increases sensitivity to colors, tastes, and sounds.  Adverse effects, however, include impaired judgement, lung damage, disrupted memory, decreasing reaction time, and lowering sex hormones.

• Contrary to popular belief, African American high school seniors report the lowest rates of use for all drugs (Johnston & others, 1994, 1996).
• Near-death experience is a state of consciousness reported after being close to death.  These same experiences, such as seeing bright tunnels, are often experienced from LSD (drug hallucination) or oxygen deprivation.
• Dualism presumes that the mind and body are two distinct parts that usually separate after death.  Monism, however, presumes that the mind and body are just different aspects of the same thing and that we cannot exist without our bodies.

 

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

One of our most enduring abilities that have ensured our survival is adaptivity, which in turn is crafted by Learning – an enduring change in behavior and knowledge due to experience.

• Organisms learn by forming associations between cause and effect (or two events).  In other words, they are exhibiting associative learning.  People associate the sight of lightning with thunder so next time they see lightning they anticipate thunder.
• Behaviorism , developed by Behaviorist John Watson, is the view that psychology should be and objective science

Classical Conditioning

• Classical Conditioning - developed by  Ivan Pavlov, the type of learning in which stimuli is associated with an Involuntary Response.  Pavlov was famous for his dog salvation experiment in which he accustomed dogs to salivate at the tone of ringing
• Respondent Behavior – An automatic response to a certain stimuli (“responding behaviors”)
• Unconditioned Response (UCR) –  The normal response that is generated (unlearned) I.e. In Pavlov’s experiment, the normal response a dog has when presented with food is salivation.
• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) –  The stimulus that triggers a normal response (UCR) I.e. The food is the UCS in Pavlov’s experiment.
• Conditioned Response (CR) –  The response that is learned (“conditioned”) I.e. Pavlov’s dogs learned to salivate upon the presence of a ringing tone.
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)   - A neutral stimulus that triggers a learned response.  I.e. The ringing is a CS because the dogs learned to salivate at the presence of a ringing tone as opposed to food.
• This kind of association is possible because Pavlov presented a ringing tone every time before food is given to the dog.  Eventually, the dog learned to anticipate food at the sound of ringing, so they salivate.
• There are 5 major processes with Classical Conditioning:

1. Acquisition – The initial formation of the association between CS and CR.  This works well when the CS is presented  half a second before UCS is presented.
2. Extinction -  If the UCS is not presented after CS for a couple of times, the organism will lose receptivity to the CS.  I.e. If after the ringing tone no food arrives, the dog stops to salivate at the presence of just a tone.
3. Spontaneous Recovery – However, if the UCS is again presented after the CS, extinction ceases and the organism again begins to respond to the CS.  I.e., the food is again presented after ringing – dog salivates.
4. Generalization – The tendency for organisms to respond similarly to similar (generalization) stimuli as the CS.  I.e. Pavlov’s dog salivating to the sound of beeping that is similar to ringing.  This is good because if you teach children to watch out for cars, they will also watch out for similar objects like trucks and vans.
5. Discrimination – The ability to distinguish (discriminate) between different stimuli, so you don’t react the same way to everything.

• Two contradicting facts: Rats will learn to avoid food that made them ill even if the illness happens hours after eating it.  Second, Rats will dislike the taste that made them ill but not the sight of the food.
• Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning has led to a variety of practical uses like helping drug addicts, increasing the immune system efficiency, and treating emotional disorders.

Operant Conditioning

• Operant Conditioning  developed by  B.F. Skinner, is a type of learning where organisms learn to  Voluntarily respond a certain way depending on the consequences (like reward or punishment).
• Operant Behavior –  The learned behavior that acts upon the situation and this behavior produces consequences.  I.e.. If you learned that eating on the bed makes your parents mad at you, your eating behavior will change depending on what kind of responses you want the situation (parents yelling or not) to have.
• Law of Effect – Behavior that is rewarded is more likely to occur again.
• Skinner Box –  The box Skinner used to research on animal behavior.  The box has a bar/button that the animal can push to obtain rewards (food).  The rate of pushing is recorded.
• Shaping – Gradually rewarding the organism as it approaches the desired behavior.  I.e..  If you want a bird to peck on a bar, you would feed it every time it got closer and closer to the bar but ignoring every other behavior it does. Thus, you are shaping the behavior with successive approximations.
• Reinforcers –  anything that increases the chances of the behavior happening again
• Positive Reinforcement – Rewards, like appraisal, money, food.
• Negative Reinforcement – Removing of aversive events.  I.e., freeing from jail, stopping someone crying, eating medicine that rids a cold, and drinking cold water to cool you down. (Taking away bad things)
• Primary Reinforcers –  Things that satisfies  Inborn biological needs.  I.e.. Food, water, warmth etc.
• Secondary Reinforcers – Learned things that are strengthened by primary reinforcers.  I.e.. Money, which can buy food – primary reinforcer; praises, high grades, smiles, which are all associated with basic needs of happiness.
• Continuous Reinforcement – Reinforcing the behavior every time it occurs.  This method of learning is quick.  But when reinforcement stops,  extinction can happen very quickly.
• Partial Reinforcement –  Reinforcing a behavior parts of the time.  Acquisition/learning is slow but more resistant to extinction.
• Four schedules of Partial reinforcement:

1.    Fixed-Ratio – Reinforcement after “fixed” number of responses.  I.e.. Getting candy after washing the floor every 3 times.
2.    Variable-Ratio –  Reinforcement after an “unpredictable” number of responses  I.e.. Getting candy after washing the floor 2 times then getting candy after washing 5 times…then 3  times…
3.    Fixed-Interval – Reinforcement after a “fixed” amount of time.  I.e.. Getting Candy 3 hours after every time the floor is washed.
4.    Variable-Interval – Reinforcement after an “unpredictable” amount of time.  I.e.. Getting Candy 2 hours after the floor is washed then getting candy 5 hours after washing…then 3 hours…

• Punishment – Opposite of reinforcement, punishment decreases the chances of a behavior reoccurring.
• Although punishment can successfully stop the undesired behavior, it also has drawbacks.  Punished behaviors are not forgotten, just suppressed until appropriate situations; punishment increases aggressiveness and attributes them to the punisher.
• Cognitive Map – Mental images of ones surroundings.  I.e.. Mice develop cognitive maps that represent a maze they just ran through.
• Latent Learning – Demonstration of acquired knowledge only when it is needed.  I.e.. Mice who explored a maze only demonstrate that they know the maze well by directly going to the food placed the previous time.
• Overjustification Effect  – Giving a reward for something the organism already likes to do.  This is unfavorable because the organism will lose the intrinsic interest and rely on rewards for they behavior.  I.e.. Being paid to put together your favorite puzzle.
• Skinner’s Operant Conditioning has many useful applications like increasing student performance, influencing productivity in jobs, and helping shape children behaviors.

 

Learning by Observation

• Observational learning – Researched by  Albert Bandura  in the 1960’s, this is a type of learning that is accomplished by Modeling - watching specific behaviors of others and imitating them.
• Prosocial Behavior – Actions that are constructive, beneficial, and nonviolent.  These behaviors can prompt similar ones in others.  Thus, “Pro-social”.
• Experiments show that children do exactly what their models (parents) do.  Hypocritical parents say one thing and do another; their children will say what they say and do what they do.

 

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

• Memory: persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of info
• Flashbulb memory: a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event; San Francisco residence recalling 1989 Earthquake
• Human memory like a computer

1. Get info into our brain –encoding: processing of info into memory system
2. Retain info –storage: retention of encoded info over time
3. Get it back later –retrieval: process of getting into out of memory storage

• Humans store vast amounts of info in long-term memory: relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system
• Short-term memory: activated memory that holds few items briefly; phone number just dial

Encoding: Getting Information In

• Automatic processing: unconscious encoding of incidental info; occurs with little or no effort, without our awareness, and without interfering with our thinking of other things; space, time, frequency, well-learned info
• Effortful processing: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort; memorizing these notes for the AP Psychology exam
• After practice, effort processing becomes more automatic; reading from right to left for students of Hebrew
• Can boost memory through rehearsal: conscious repetition of info, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage
• Next-in-line effect: when people go around circle saying names/words, poorest memories are for name/word person before them said
• Info received before sleep is hardly ever remembered are consciousness fade before processing able
• Retain info better when rehearsal distributed over time –phenomenon called spacing effect: tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through cramming
• When given a list of items and ask to recall, people often demonstrate serial position effect: tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
• Rehearsal will not encode all info equally well because processing of info is in 3 ways

1. Semantic encoding: encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words
2. Acoustic encoding: encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
3. Visual encoding: encoding of picture images

• Fergus Craik and Endel Tulving flashed a word to people, asking question that required processing either visually, acoustically, or semantically; semantic encoding was found to yield much better memory
• Imagery: mental pictures; powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding;
• can easily picture where we were yesterday, where we sat, and what we wore
• Mnemonic: memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
• Chunking: organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
• Able remember info best when able to organize it into personal meaningful arrangements

Forgetting as Encoding Failure

• Failure to encode info –never entered memory system
• Much of what we sense, we never notice
• Raymond Nickerson and Marilyn Adams discover most people cannot pick the real American penny from different ones; (See pg. 280)

Storage: Retaining Information

• Sensory memory: immediate, initial recording of sensory info in memory system
• we have short temporary photographic memory called iconic memory: momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; photographic/picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a sec; visual = eye, which sounds like “I” in iconic also fleeting memory for auditory sensory images called echoic memory: momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 sec; auditory = ear, which starts with “e” like echoic
• Short-Term Memory
• without active processing, short-term memories have limited life
• short-term memory limited in capacity –about 7 chunks of info; at any given moment, can consciously process only very limited amount of info
• Long-Term Memory
• capacity for storing long-term memories is practically limitless
• though forgetting occurs as new experiences interfere with retrieval and as physical memory trace gradually decays
• Karl Lashley removed pieces of rat’s cortex as it ran through maze; found that no matter what part removed, partial memory of solving maze stayed; concluded memories don’t reside in single specific spot
• Psychologists then focus on neurons
• Long-term potential (LTP): increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; believed to be neural basis for learning and memory
• After long-term potential occurs, passing electric current through brain won’t disrupt old memories, but wipe up recent experiences; football player with blow to head won’t recall name of play before the blow
• Drugs that block neurotransmitters also disrupt info storage; drunk people hardly remembers previous evening
• Stimulating hormones affect memory as more glucose available to fuel brain activity, indicating important event –
• sears events onto brain; remembering first kiss, earthquake
• Amnesia: loss of memory
• Found that people who don’t have memories can still learn, indicating 2 memory systems operating in order
• Implicit memory: retention without conscious recollection (of skills and dispositions); how to do something
• Explicit memory: memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”; remember it was done before
• Through scans, found that Hippocampus, neural center located in limbic system, helps process explicit memories for storage
• Damage to left side of hippocampus produce difficulty in remembering verbal info, but no trouble recalling visual designs and locations
• Damage to right side produce difficulty in remembering visual designs and locations, but no trouble recalling verbal info
• When hippocampus removed from monkeys, lose recent memories, but old memories intact, suggesting hippocampus not permanent storage
• Long-term memories scattered across various parts of frontal and temporal lobes

Retrieval: Getting Information Out

• Recall: measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier; fill-in-the-blank test
• Once learned and forgotten, relearning something becomes quicker than when originally first learned
• Recognition: measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned; multiple-choice test
• Relearning: memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when relearning previously learned info
• Through tests on recognition and relearning, found one remember more than can recall
• To retrieve specific memory, need to identify one of the strands that leads to it, process called priming: activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory
• Retrieval cues (reminders of info) such as photographs, often prime one’s memories for earlier experiences
• Best retrieval cues comes from associations formed at time when one encodes memory
• By being in similar context (surrounding), can cause flood of retrieval cues and memories
• Being in similar context as before, may trigger experience déjà vu: eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
• Things we learn in one state (joyful, sad, drunk, sober, etc) are more easily recalled when in same state –phenomenon called state-dependent memory
• Moods also associated with memory; easily recall memory when mood of that incident same as present
• Mood-congruent memory: tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

Forgetting as Retrieval Failure

• Learning some items may interfere with retrieving others
• Proactive interference (forward-acting): disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new info; old combination lock numbers may interfere with recalling of new numbers; “pro”(after = new) interference = interference on new info
• Retroactive interference (backward-acting): disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old info; teachers who just learn students’ names from present class have trouble recalling previous class’ students’ names; retro (before = old) interference = interference on old info
• Repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defence mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
• Increasing memory researchers think repression occurs rarely

Memory Construction

• Misinformation effect: incorporating misleading info into one’s memory of an event; miscalling a stop sign when asked about car crash
• Source amnesia: attributing to the wrong source an event that we experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

Thinking

• Cognition: mental activity associated with processing, understanding , and communicating info
• To think about so many things, we group them into concepts: mental grouping of similar objects, events, or people
• Prototype:  The best representation of a concept.  I.e. A dog maybe a good example of the concept of four legged animals
• Algorithm: A logical procedure guaranteed to solve a problem.  This method is slow but less likely to make mistakes. I.e. unscramble the letters in SOSIA to find the word.  An Algorithmic approach would be to try all the possible combinations of letters.
• Heuristic: Using “rule-of-thumb” strategies to solve problems and make judgements efficiently.  This method is faster but more likely to make mistakes.  I.e. Unscramble SOSIA.  A Heuristic approach would not try combinations with 2 SS’s together.
• Insight: A sudden flash of inspiration and the solution to problem comes to you.  This contrasts with strategic problem solving methods.
• Confirmation Bias : You tend to look for answers that confirm your own expectations/guesses
• Fixation: Inability to look at a problem from a different perspective.
• Mental Set: A type of fixation that works on previous solutions that are successful.  It is like your mind is set on your mental set
• Functional Fixedness: You tend to think of things in their usual functions.  I.e. Inability to see that a paperclip could also be used as a hook instead of clipping papers.
• Representative Heuristics:  The tendency to judge things according to how well they match a prototype.  Thinking in terms on well something “represents” another. I.e. if I say a person is strong, muscular, and fast, you might think the person is some sort of athlete because those qualities best represent an athlete.  However, the person could very well be a fit professor.
• Availability Heuristics:  The tendency to base the likelihood of events on how vivid you remembered them.  How “available” the instance is in your memory.  I.e. If your printer broke down once and took you forever to fix it so that you remember the instance greatly, the next time you advise someone about a printer, you’ll most likely say printers break down easily.
• Overconfidence: Overestimating the accuracy of your judgements.  Same as being  Overconfident.
• Framing:  The way information is shown or set up.  Just like how something is “framed” as in framing of a picture.  If the picture is of fruits and the frame looks like an interwoven wooden thread, then the picture looks very natural.  If the picture is placed around a frame that is grey and metallic-like, the effect is very different.  Just like if I “frame” the statement: there is a 70% chance of winning as opposed to 30% chance of losing.
• Belief bias:  The tendency to perceive what is conflicting with our beliefs to be illogical.
• Belief Perseverance:  Tendency for your beliefs to remain or “preserve” even if where you formulated the belief is a wrong source.  I.e. if Jim tells you that dogs can run faster than cats and you believe it, then even If you find out that Jim is a mental patient, your belief that dogs are faster than cats still remain.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Computerized systems that mimic human thinking abilities.
• Neural Networks: Computer circuitry that resemble the real “neural networks” of interconnected neurons in the brain

 
Language

• Language:  The combination of gestured, spoken, and/or written words to communicate meaning.
• Phoneme:  The smallest sound unit.  I.e. In fish there are 3 phonemes: f, i, sh
• Morpheme:  The smallest meaningful unit (this includes pre/suffices).  I.e. I, a, dog, -ed, un-, me ~ are all morphemes.
• Grammar: Rules in a language that allows us to properly understand it.
• Semantics: How we get meaning from  morphemes, words, and sentences.
• Syntax: How to combine words into meaningful sentences.
• Babbling Stage:  (3-4 months after birth) A stage in speech development where the infant utters sounds unlike the family language.
• One-word stage: (1-2 years old) A stage in speech development where the infant speaks single words
• Two-word stage: (2 years old) Infants speak in two-word phrases that resemble Telegraphic speech – speech like a “telegram”  I.e. Want candy, me play, no eat…etc.
• A child can learn any language and will spontaneously invent meaningful words to convey their wishes.  However, after age 7, the ability to master a new language greatly declines.
• Animals also communicate, whether by means of sound or behavior just as bees dictate the location of nectar with an elaborate dance.
• Allen Gardner and Beatrice Gardner, researchers of University of Nevada, successfully taught a chimpanzee to perform sign language as means of communication.

Thinking and Language

• Linguistic Benjamin Lee  Whorf’s  Linguistic Relativity  states language determines how we think.  This is most evident in polylinguals (speaking 2 or more languages).  I.e. Someone who speaks English and Chinese will feel differently depending on which language they are using. English has many words describing personal emotions and Chinese has many words describing inter-personal emotions.
• However, Thinking could occur without language.  This is evident in pianists and artists where mental images nourish the mind.
• Therefore, thinking and language affect each other in an enduring cycle.

 

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998
 

 

We use intelligence tests to give a numerical value to ones mental abilities by comparing them to others.
 

The Origins of Intelligence Testing

• Francis Galton  (1822-1911) had great enthusiasm in measuring human traits that lead to the “eugenics” movement. His goal was to “quantify human superiority” by means of tests on strength, reaction time, sensory precision and even head size.  Despite his efforts, no correlation whatsoever was found between general mental abilities and the traits.
• Alfred Binet – founder of modern intelligence testing, sought methods to identify students who would have difficulties in regular classes by measuring ones  Mental Age –  if you perform the way a typical 10 year old would, then your mental age is 10 years old, regardless of your real age.  This lead to labelling problems.  Ie, people saw your level of intelligence and not really who you are.
• Lewis Truman- developed the current Stanford-Binet intelligence test.  The test measures IQ Intelligence Quotient- mental age divided by chronological age(real age) times 100.  If you are 12 years old(chronological age) and your mental abilities are the same as those who are 12 years old (mental age).  Then your IQ is 12/12 X 100= 100, the average IQ.
• The stanford-Binet test became applied to many people of differing races.  The result, Truman realized, the reason why non-Anglo Saxons did worst is because the test measures not only their innate abilities but also education and cultural distinctiveness.

 

What is Intelligence

• We define Intelligence as the ability/capacity to be goal oriented and exhibit adaptive behavior.
• IQ is not a fixed “thing” one has; it is merely a score one obtains from a test.
• Know that intelligence is always expressed in a context.  Ie, in the context of warriors, musicians, engineers, artists, different intelligence levels will be expressed in different areas by one individual.
• To determine if many factors undermine ones general mental ability, psychologists make use of factor analysis – a statistical method that identifies a variety of related factors in a test.
• Charles Spearman believed that there is a general intelligence factor or g factor undermining each ability/factor.  Ie, those who excelled in reasoning also did quite well in all other areas such as spatial ability, verbal, memory, and word fluency.
• People with Savant syndrome excel exceptionally in one ability/skill but has limited mental abilities.  Ie, a 12 year old who has difficulty speaking and walking but can compute numbers as fast as a calculator. Thus, contrary to  the g factor, Howard Gardner believes we have “multiple intelligences” that are independent of each other.
• Also supporting the multiple intelligence theory is the existance of  emotional intelligence – the ability to manage, express, understand, and perceive emotions.  People with high emotional intelligence do better in social situations and thus are more successful in careers, marriages, and parenting.  This EI is independent, if not negatively correlated, with academic intelligence.
• With modern brain imaging techniques, researchers still fail (as did with Galton) to find significant correlation between head size and intelligence.
• Brains of people with high performances are less active (intake less glucose), quick, and registers information with more complexity. One explanation for this could be that people with faster cognitive processes acquire more information.

 

Assessing Intelligence

• Aptitude tests –  predict your future performance or ability to learn new skill.  Ie, college entrance exam(designed to test your ability to do college work), intelligence tests, physical examinations
• Achievement  tests –  assesses your current knowledge or what you know.  Ie, final course examinations (designed to test the knowledge you already obtained during the course), and chapter tests.
• Currently, the most widely used intelligence test is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)  it has 11 subtests and gives a verbal score, a performance score, and an overall score.  Large differences between the verbal and nonverbal scores indicate possible learning difficulties.
• Psychological tests must meet all 3 of the following criteria in order to be widely accepted.

1.    Standardization – To standardize a test, it must first be given to a large representative sample of people in which their scores will be set as the standard for comparison.

• Normal curve- a bell shaped curve of scores formed by standardized test results. The majority (68%) of people fall within the center or average of the curve.

2.    Reliability –  To be reliable, a test must yield consistent results.  This is done by comparing scores on two halves of a test or by retesting.

3.    Validity – The degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.

• Content validity –  corresponds to  achievements tests. The extent to which a test  measures it’s intended behavior.
• Predictive validity (or criterion-related validity) - corresponds to aptitude tests.  The success the test has in predicting intended behavior
• Criterion –  The behavior being tested.

• Flynn Effect – Intelligence tests worldwide show an increase in scores since 1960’s.  BUT aptitude test scores are decreasing; Possible explanations: Greater academic diversity, better education, and/or improved nutrition.

 
The Dynamics of Intelligence

• Before age 3, except for extremely impaired children, casual observations and intelligence tests predict future aptitudes minimally; but by age 3, performances on intelligence tests begin to predict adolescent and adult scores
• By age 7, intelligence tests become more stable and increases in stability with age of child
• Mental retardation: condition of limited mental ability as indicated by an intelligence score of below 70 and produces difficulty in adapting to demands of life;  varies from mild to profound; ONLY  one percent of population meets criteria and males outnumber females by 50 percent
• One cause of mental retardation is Down syndrome: physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup
• Creativity: ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
• Discovered that certain level of aptitude is necessary but not sufficient for creativity, correlates, but only to certain level (score of about 120)
• Those who are freed from concern of social approval demonstrate better creativity

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

• IQ scores of identical twins are virtually the same as though one person taking test twice whereas IQ scores of fraternal twins are less similar
• Evidence of environmental influence –fraternal twins who are no more genetically alike than any other sibling, but are treated more alike tend to score high than other siblings
• Adopted children score more similar to their biological parents than their adopted parents
• Heritability: proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes; heritability of trait may vary, depending on range of populations and environments studied
• Environment that siblings share influences their aptitudes marginally, but significantly influences scholastic achievements
• Psychologist J. McVicker Hunt tested the benefits of responsive caregiving; trained caregivers to play vocal games with infants in which first they imitated babies’ babbling, then led babies in vocal follow-the-leader (shifting from one familiar sound to another) and finally begin to teach them sounds from Persian language; results were all 11 infants could name more than 50 objects and body parts by 22 months; Hunt’s experiment shows importance of environment on children’s intelligence
• Racial groups differ in average scores on intelligence tests
• Difference not mostly based on genetics unlike individual performance differences because heritability within groups would not eliminate the possibility of strong environmental impact on the group differences
• Example -IQ performances of today’s better-fed and better-educated population exceeds those from 1930s population by the same amount as average white today exceed average african-american
• Girls are better spellers and are equal or surpasses average boy in math grades, but boys tend to score better in math problem solving
• David Geary and Irwin Silverman speculate that skills came from evolutionary perspective where males tend to be stronger in skills that their ancestral fathers needed such as tracking prey and navigating way home whereas females were enhanced in keen memory for location of edible planes by their ancestral mothers
• Researchers discovered that some people are better emotional detectors than others while women are better at it than men
• Some speculate that through evolution where ancestral mother learned to read emotions of infant and may have further being fueled by cultural tendencies to encourage empathic skills

 

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

Motivation

• Motivation- a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
• Instinct- complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned
• Drive-Reduction Theory- the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
• Homeostasis- 1. tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state 2. regulation of any aspect of body chemistry around a particular level
• Incentives- a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

• Self-actualization needs Need to live up one’s fullest and unique potential

1. Esteem needs
   

   Need for self-esteem, achievement, competence, and independence; need for recognition and respect from others

2. Belongingness and love needs
   

   Need to love and be loved, to belong and be accepted; need to avoid loneliness and alienation

3. Safety needs
   

   Need to feel that the world is organized and predictable; need to feel safe, secure, and stable

4. Physiological needs

Need to satisfy hunger and thirst.

• begins with physiological needs that must be satisfied
• the higher-level safety needs become active
• then psychological needs become active

 

Motivation-Hnuger

• Stomach contractions accompany our feelings of hunger
• Glucose the form of sugar that circulates in the blood
• provides the major source of energy for body tissues
• when its level is low, we feel hunger
• Set Point
• the point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set
• when the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.
• Metabolic Rate- body’s base rate of energy expenditure
• The  hypothalamus  controls eating and other body maintenance functions

Eating Disorders

• Anorexia Nervosa
• When a normal-weight person diets and becomes significantly underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve
• Usually and adolescent female
• When a person weighs less than 85% of their normal body weight
• 95% of sufferers are female
• most are between the ages of 18-30
• 30% of persons diagnosed with anorexia nervosa die
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Disorder characterized by private “binge-purge” episodes of overeating, usually of high caloric foods, followed by vomiting or laxative use

 

Sexual Motivation

• Sex is a physiologically based motive, like hunger, but it is more affected by learning and values
• Sexual Response Cycle
• The four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson

1. Excitement
2. Plateau
3. Orgasm
4. Resolution

• Refractory Period- resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm
• Estrogen- a sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males
• Forces Affecting Sexual Motivation:
• Imaginative stimuli
• External stimuli
• Physiological readiness
• Sexual Disorders- problems that consistently impair sexual arousal or functioning
• In Men

1. Premature ejaculation- ejaculation before they or their partners wish
2. Impotence- inability to have or maintain erection

• In Women

1. Orgasmic disorder-  infrequent or absent orgasms
2. Sexual Orientation- an enduring sexual attraction toward members of wither one’s own gender (homosexual orientation) or the other gender (heterosexual orientation)

 

Motivation

• Achievement Motivation- a desire for significant accomplishment
• For mastery of things, people, or ideas
• For attaining a high standard
• McClelland and Atkinson believed fantasies would reflect achievement concerns
• Intrinsic Motivation- desire to perform a behavior for its own sake or to be effective
• Extrinsic Motivation-  desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment
• Rewards Affect Motivation

1. Controlling reward: Mom: “I’ll give you $5.00 for every A.” - 
2. Extrinsic Motivation: Child: “As long as she pays, I’ll study.”
3. Informative reward: Mom: “Your grades were great! Let’s celebrate by going out for dinner.” 
4. Intrinsic Motivation: Child: “I love doing well.”

• Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology- sub-field of psychology that studies and advises on workplace behavior
• I/O Psychologists-  help organizations select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, and design products and assess responses to them
• Task Leadership- goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals
• Social Leadership-  group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support
• Theory X
• Assumes that workers are basically lazy, error-prone, and extrinsically motivated by money
• Should be directed from above
• Theory Y
• Assumes that, given challenge and freedom, workers are motivated to achieve self-esteem and to demonstrate their competence and creativity

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

• Emotion- a response of the whole organism
• Physiological arousal
• Expressive behaviors
• Conscious experience

Emotional Arousal

• Autonomic nervous system controls physiological arousal
• Arousal and Performance- Performance peaks at lower levels of arousal for difficult tasks, and at higher levels for easy or well-learned tasks.

 

Emotion-Lie Detectors

• Polygraph- machine that is commonly used in attempt to detect lies; measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion (i.e. perspiration, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing changes0
• Control Question
• Up to age 18, did you ever physically harm anyone?
• Relevant Question
• Did the deceased threaten to harm you in any way?
• RELEVANT > CONTROL ! LIE
• Is 70% accuracy good?
• Assume 5% of 1000 employees actually guilty…after testing all employees 285 will be wrongly accused
• What about 95% accuracy?
• Assume that 1 in 1000 employees actually guilty…after testing all employees 50 are wrongly declared guilty and 1 of 51 testing positive are guilty (2%)

 

Experiencing Emotion

• The amygdala is a neural key to fear learning
• Catharsis- emotional release; catharsis hypothesis- "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges
• Feel-good, do-good phenomenon- people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.
• Subjective Well-Being-  self perceived happiness or satisfaction with life; used along with measures of objective well-being (physical and economic indicators to evaluate people’s quality of life.
• Adaptation-Level Phenomenon-  tendency to from judgements relative to a “neutral” level (i.e. brightness of lights, volume of sound, level of income); defined by our prior experience
• Relative Deprivation-  perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

 
 

Theories of Emotion

• Does you heart pound because you are afraid…or are you afraid because you feel your heart pounding?
• James-Lange Theory of Emotion

Experience of emotion is awareness of physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

•  Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

Emotion-arousing stimuli simultaneously trigger: physiological responses and subjective experience of emotion

•  Schachter’s Two Factor Theory of Emotion

To experience emotion one must: be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal

• Emotion and cognition feed on each other

 
 

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

Personality

• An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
• Four basic perspectives
• Psychoanalytic
• Trait
• Humanistic
• Social-cognitive
• From Freud’s theory which proposes that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality

 

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

• Psychoanalysis
• Technique of treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions
• Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality sought to explain what he observed during psychoanalysis
• Free Association
• Method of exploring the unconscious
• Person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing
• Unconscious
• Freud-a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes. Feelings and memories
• Contemporary-information processing of which we are unaware
• Preconscious-  information that is not conscious, but is retrievable into conscious awareness

 

Personality Structure

• ID
• A reservoir of unconscious psychic energy
• Strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives
• Operates on the pleasure principle. Demanding immediate gratification
• SUPEREGO
• The part of personality that presents internalized ideals
• Provides standards for judgement and for future aspirations
• EGO
• The largely conscious, “executive” part of personality
• Mediates among the demands of the id, superego and ego
• Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

 

Personality Development

• Psychosexual Stages-  the childhood stages of development during which the pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
• Oedipus Complex-  a boy’s sexual desires towards his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

•  Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

STAGE                                     FOCUS

Oral (0-18 months)              Pleasure centers on the mouth---sucking, biting, chewing

Anal (18-36 months)            Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

Phallic (3-6 years)                Pleasure zone in genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feeling

Latency ( 6 to puberty)        Dormant sexual feelings

Genital (puberty on)             Maturation of sexual interests

 

Personality Development

• Identification-  the process by which children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos
• Gender Identity-  one’s sense of being male or female
• Fixation- a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved

Defense Mechanisms

• Defense Mechanisms-  the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
• Repression-  the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
• Regression-  defense mechanism in which an individual retreats, when faced with anxiety, to a more infantile psychosexual stage where some psychic energy remains fixated
• Reaction Formation- defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites.  People may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.
• Projection-  defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
• Rationalization-  defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions
• Displacement-  defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person…as when redirecting anger towards a safer outlet

 
 

Neo-Freudians

• Alfred Adler-  importance of childhood social tension
• Karen Horney-  sought to balance Freud’s masculine biases
• Carl Jung-  emphasizes collective unconscious…concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history

Assessing The Unconscious

• Projective Test-  a personality rest, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provided ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)-  a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
• Rorschach Inkblot Test- the most widely used projective test, uses a set of 10 inkblots designed by
• Hermann Rorschach to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

 
 

The Trait Perspective

• Trait-  a characteristic pattern of behavior; a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
• Personality Inventory-  a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits

• The “Big Five” personality Factors

Trait Dimension                    Description

Emotional Stability                 Calm versus anxious

Secure versus insecure

Self-satisfied versus self-pitying

Extraversion                            Sociable versus retiring

Fun-loving versus sober

Affectionate versus reserved

Openness                                 Imaginative versus practical

Preference for variety versus preference for routine

Independent versus conforming

Extraversion                            Soft-hearted versus ruthless Trusting versus suspicious Helpful versus uncooperative

Conscientiousness                   Organized versus disorganized Careful versus careless Disciplined versus impulsive

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
• The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests
• Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)
• Now used for many other screening purposes
• Empirically Derived Test-  a test developed by testing a pool of  items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups…similar to MMPI

Evaulating The Trait Perspective

• Situational influences on behavior are important to consider
• People can fake desirable responses on self-report measures of personality
• Averaging behavior across situations seems to indicate that people do have distinct personality traits

 

Humanistic Perspective

• Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)-  studied self-actualization processes of productive and healthy people
• Self-Actualization-  the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential
• Carl Rogers (1902-1987)-  focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals
• Requires three conditions

1. Genuineness
2. Acceptance- unconditional positive regard
3. Empathy

• Unconditional Positive Regard- an attitude of total acceptance toward another person
• Self-Concept- all of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question “Who am I”?”
• Self-Esteem- one’s feelings of high or low self-worth
• Self-Serving Bias- a readiness to perceive oneself favorably
• Individualism- giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
•  Collectivism- giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly

 

Evaluating The Humanistic Perspective

• Concepts like self-actualization are vague
• Emphasis on self may promote self-indulgence and lack of concern for others
• Theory does not address reality of human capacity for evil
• Theory has impacted popular ideas on child rearing, education, management, etc.

 

Social-Cognitive Perspecitve

• Reciprocal Determinism- the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors
• Personal Control- our sense of controlling our environments rather than feeling helpless
• External Locus of Control- the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate
• Internal Locus of Control- the perception that one controls one’s own fate
• Learned Helplessness- the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
• Built from research on learning and cognition
• Fails to consider unconscious motives and individual disposition
• Today, cognitive-behavioral theory is perhaps predominant psychological approach to explaining human behavior

 

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998
 

Psychological Disorder- a condition in which behavior is judged

• Atypical-not enough in itself
• Disturbing- varied with time and culture
• Maladaptive- harmful
• Unjustifiable- sometimes there's a good reason

Historical Perspective

• Perceived Causes- movements of sun or moon; evil spirits
• Ancient Treatments- exorcism, caged like animals, beaten, burned, castrated, mutilated, blood replaced with animals blood

Psychological Disorders

• Medical Model
• Concept that diseases have physical causes
• Can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases, cured
• Assumes that these "mental" illnesses can be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms and cured through therapy in a psychiatric hospital
• Bio-psycho-social Perspective- assumes that biological, sociocultural, and psychological factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders

Etiology

• DSM-IV
• American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
• A widely used system for classifying psychological disorders
• Neurotic disorder
• Usually distressing but that allows one to think rationally and function socially
• Freud saw the neurotic disorders as ways of dealing with anxiety
• Psychotic disorder
• Person loses contact with reality
• Experiences irrational ideas and distorted perceptions

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety Disorders- distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder- client is tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
• Phobia- persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder- characterizes by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
• Panic Disorder- marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensation

Dissociative Disorders

• Dissociative Disorders- conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings
• Dissociative Amnesia- selective memory loss often brought on by extreme stress
• Dissociative Fugue- flight from one's home and identity accompanies amnesia
• Dissociative Identity Disorder- rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities; also known as multiple personality disorder

Mood Disorders

• Mood Disorders- characterized by emotional extremes
• Major Depressive Disorder- a mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities
• Mania- a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
• Bipolar Disorder- a mood disorder in which the person alternated between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania; formerly called manic-depressive disorder

Schizophrenia

• Schizophrenia
• Literal translation "split mind"
• A group of severe psychotic disorders characterized by:
• Disorganized and delusional thinking
• Disturbed perceptions
• Inappropriate emotions and actions
• Delusions- false beliefs, often on persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders
• Hallucinations- false sensory experiences such as seeing something without any external visual stimulus

Subtypes of Schizophrenia

• Paranoid - Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations
• Disorganizes - Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion
• Catatonic - Immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement), extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike repeating of another's speech or movements
• Undifferentiated or residual - Schizophrenia symptoms without fitting one of the above types

Personality Disorders

• Personality Disorders
• Disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
• Usually without anxiety, depression, or delusions
• Antisocial Personality Disorder- disorder in which the person (usually male) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998
 

Therapy

• Psychotherapy- an emotionally charges, confiding interaction between a trained therapist and someone who suffers from psychological difficulties
• Eclectic Approach- an approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client’s problems, uses or integrates techniques from various forms of therapy (also know as psychotherapy integration

 

Psychoanalysis

• Psychoanalysis- Freud believed the patient’s free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences- and the therapist’s interpretations of them- released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight
• Resistance- blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material
• Interpretation- that analyst’s noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors in order to promote insight
• Transference- the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships

 

Humanist Therapy

• Person-Centered Therapy- humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers; therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting. Empathic environment to facilitate clients’ growth
• Active Listening- empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies

 

Gestalt Therapy

• Developed by Fritz Perls
• Combines the psychoanalytic emphasis on bringing unconscious feelings to awareness and the humanistic emphasis on getting “in touch with oneself”
• Aims to help people become more aware and able to express their feeling, and to take responsibility for their feelings and actions

 

Behavior Therapy

• Behavior Therapy- therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors
• Counterconditioning
• Procedure that conditions new responses to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors
• Based on classical conditioning
• Includes systematic desensitization and aversive conditioning
• Sytematic Desensitization
• Type of counterconditioning
• Associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli
• Commonly used to treat phobias
• Aversive Conditioning
• Type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior
• Nausea!Alcohol
• Token Economy
• An operant conditioning procedure that rewards desired behavior
• Patient exchanges a token of some sort, earned for exhibiting the desired behavior, for various privileges or treats

 

Cognitive Therapy

• Cognitive Therapy
• Teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting
• Based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions
• Rational-Emotive Therapy
• Confrontational cognitive therapy developed by Albert Ellis
• Vigorously challenges people’s illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions
• Also called rational-emotive behavior therapy by Ellis, emphasizing a behavioral “homework” component

 

Group Therapies

• Family Therapy
• Treats the family as a system
• Views an individual’s unwanted behaviors as influenced by or directed at other family members
• Encourages family members toward positive relationships and improved communication

 

Types of Therapists

TYPE                                                             DESCRIPTION

Psychiatrist                                                    Physicians who specialize in the treatment of psychological disorders.  Not all psychiatrists have had extensive training in psychotherapy, but as M.D.’s they can prescribe medications.  Thus, they tend to see those with the most serious problems.  Many have private practices

Clinical Psychologists                                   Most are psychologists with a Ph.D. and expertise in research, assessment, and therapy, supplemented by a supervised internship.  About half work in agencies and institutions, half in private practices.

Clinical or psychiatric Social workers        A two-year Master of Social Work graduate program plus postgraduate supervision prepares some social workers to offer psychotherapy, mostly to people with everyday personal and family problems.  About half have earned the National Association of Social Workers’ designation of clinical social work.

Counselors                                                     Marriage and family counselors specialize in problems arising from family relations.  Pastoral counselors provide counseling to countless people. Abuse counselors work with substance abusers and with spouse and child abusers and their victims.

 

Biomedical Therapies

• Psychopharmacology- study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior
• Lithium- chemical that provides an effective drug therapy for the mood swings of bipolar disorders
• Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)- therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient
• Psychosurgery- surgery that removes of destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior
• Lobotomy- now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients

 

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

Stress and Health

• Behavioral Medicine- interdisciplinary field that integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to health and disease
• Health Psychology- subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine

What is Stress?

• Stress- the process by which we perceive and respond to events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
• General Adaptation Syndrome- Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress as composed of three stages
• Phase 1-Alarm reaction
• Phase 2-Resistance
• Phase 3-Exhaustion

Stressful Life Events

• Catastrophic Events- earthquakes, combat stress, floods
• Life Changes- death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, promotion
• Daily Hassles- rush hour traffic, long lines, job stress, burnout
• Perceived Control- loss of control can increase stress hormones

What is Stress? (Part 2)

• Burnout- physical, emotional and mental exhaustion brought on by persistent job-related stress
• Coronary Hear Disease- clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; leading cause of death in the US

Stress and Coronary Heart Disease

• Type A- Friedman and Rosenman's term for people who are competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, anger-prone
• Type B- Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people

Stress and Disease

• Psychomatic Disease- psychologically caused physical symptoms
• Psychophysiological Illness
• "mind-body" illness
• any stress-related physical illness
• distinct from hypochondriasis- misinterpreting normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease
• Lymphocytes- two types of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system
• B lymphocytes form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections
• T lymphocytes from the thymus and, among other duties, attack the cancer cells, viruses and foreign substances

Promoting Health

• Aerobic Exercise- sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety
• Biofeedback- system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state
• Blood pressure
• Muscle tension

Prevention

• 14% of US Gross Domestic Product is spent on health care
• 2/3 of organizations with less than 50 employees have health promoting programs
• health assessments
• fitness training
• smoking cessation
• stress management

Smoking

• Some estimations show smoking kills about 20 loaded jumbo jets per day
• Smoking is a pediatric disease
• Rebellious youth
• Modeling behavior, social rewards
• Targeted ad campaigns
• Why not quit? Nicotine delivery system

How to Quit

• Education
• Eliminate the social reinforcement
• Increase social support for quitting
• Cost
• Tax it to shorten the time between behavior and punishment
• Reduces smoking by 4% for every 10% increase cost
• Nicotine Replacement -Patch and Gum
• Reduce pharmacological addiction
• Then treat psychological addiction

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

The goal of social psychologists is to study how we feel about, relate, and influence each other
 

Social Thinking

 

• Fritz Heider’s Attribution Theory states that people “attribute” (link) others’ behaviors with their (internal) disposition or (external) situations.  I.e. A person that always smiles at a party might give the impression to others that he is a happy guy (dispositional attribution) or the party is making him happy (situational attribution).
• Fundamental Attribution Error – When someone attributes others’ behavior as a reflection of their “real” internal disposition not considering situational effects.  That is, one makes the mistake of underestimating situational influence and overestimating personality influence.  I.e. Observing a police officer at work will make you think that they are forceful, non-tolerating, and even aggressive (overestimating personality influence) but this is so because their job demands such actions (underestimating situation influence).  However, catch them off duty in a pet shop and you might see how caring and sincere they are.
• Attitudes – Your feelings and beliefs that direct the way you respond to your surroundings.  In turn, your actions can also dictate your attitudes; so attitudes and actions exist in an enduring cycle.
• Foot-in-the-door-phenomenon – Tendency for people who have agreed on a small request to comply later to a larger one.  I.e. you are likely to agree to a small questionnaire from a salesman at first and then also to agree to larger request say purchasing what he has to offer.
• Role – Expectations on how one should behave in a certain social position.  I.e. Adults should be responsible, professors should be intellectual, soldiers should be brave…etc.
• In Philip Zimbardo’s 1972 prison study, students were randomly assigned to act as prisoners or guards.  In less than a week, the students became so absorbed into their “role playing” that the roles they played actually became themselves.  The guards adopted abusive attitudes and the prisoners became discouraged and even rebellious.  After the study, the students quickly grew back into their normal roles.
• Cognitive Dissonance Theory – States that if what we believe and what we do are inconsistent, we will feel cognitive dissonance (discomforting tension) and we will reduce this tension by altering our attitudes.  I.e. If you were made to write about the advantages of a topic you disagree on (say more homework), you’ll feel uneasy and start believing your words to comfort yourself.

 

Social Influence

 

• Conformity – often due to group pressure, is the adjustment of your behavior or thinking to coincide with others. Examples of conformity include: laughing when others are laughing, going to a stand in the mall crowded with people, giving more to charity baskets because there’s lots of money inside.
• Norms – Expected or proper behavior in a social context.
• Normative Social Influence – Person conforms because they want to gain social approval/acceptance.
• (NORMative – following the social norm)
• Informative Social Influence – Person conforms because they accept others’ judgment on reality.
• (INFOrmative –accepting info/facts about reality)
• Stanley Milgrim’s Obedience Study – Participants act as teachers who deliver electrical shocks to examinee’s that answer incorrectly.  The magnitude of voltages increase as the number of questions answered incorrectly increase.  Even though screaming sounds of pain were heard from the examinee, 63% of the participants delivered right up to the last 450-volts.  The experiment showed that obedience was highest when: the order giver has high authority, the victim was far away or unseen, no one was seen disobeying.
• Social Facilitation – Improved performance on well learned tasks in the presence of others (audience).
• Social Loafing – Diminished effort when working in a group towards a common goal.  (slacking off others)
• Deindividuation – The loss of self- restraint when one is part of a large group.
• Group Polarization – Pre-existing attitudes become enhanced when discussed with in a group.  I.e. When abusive parents talk together, they feel their actions are more justified and become even more abusive.
• Group Think – Where people in group discussions tend to agree with whatever is being proposed in order to maintain hormony.  Alternative views are suppressed even though they are better than the presented one.
• Culture – Passed on behaviors, ideas, and attitudes shared by a many people.
• The minority can pursuade the majority if they are consistent and committed.  I.e. Mahatma Gandhi’s fight for independence.
• Personal Space – The “zone” we like to maintain around our bodies.  This is culture-dependent.  Western cultures have a relatively small personal space because of the hugs and kisses.  Eastern cultures, however, like to maintain a relatively open personal space.
• Gender Roles – Expected behaviors from males and females in a culture.

 

Social Relations

 

• Prejudice – Often negative beliefs, emotions, and actions towards a group and its individual members.  These attitudes are based on Stereotypes – overgeneralizations about a group of people.  These unjustified thoughts bring about discrimination and social inequalities.  I.e. Negro’s are perceived as violent as they push people the same way a Caucasian would.
• Ingroup Bias – Favoring of your own group.  This kind of thinking promotes separations among the human race as people are classified as “ingroup” and “outgroup.”
• Scapegoat Theory – Justification of one’s prejudice/anger is sought in blaming someone (target).  In order to boost one’s self-esteem they will resort to degrading others.
• Just-world phenomenon – Belief that the world is “just the way it is.”  I.e. people get what they deserve and deserve what they get (promotes blame and lowers the tendency to help others).
• Aggression – Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy others.  People who are aggression-prone are more likely to drink and become violent.
• Frustration-aggression principle – Frustration creates Aggression.
• Repeated exposure to violent shows diminishes ones self-inhibition just as watching pornography makes one’s partner seem less attractive.
• Conflict – Inconsistencies of actions, goals, and/or ideas.
• Social Traps – A situation in which both parties are aiming for self-interest only and therefore gets tied in a mutually destructive situation.  I.e. When fishing companies anticipate that other companies will fish just as much or more as themselves so they continue to rigoriously fish.  Eventually this situation results in a depletion of fish because none of the companies would lower their fishing amount.
• Mere-exposure effect – Increased liking of a stimulus due to repeated exposure to it.  I.e. The more you look at a picture the more you like it.
• You will become friends with those geographically close to you (proximity).  Also, you are likely to marry someone who has the same level of physical attractiveness as you.
• Passionate Love – Usually present at the beginning of a relationship, this is state of intense “HOT” intimate love.
• Companionate Love – The affectionate attachment that replaces passionate love and persists in marriage.
• Equity – The constant sharing between partners.  You freely get what you freely give.  Equity increases chances of sustained companionate love.
• Self-disclosure – Telling your most intimate aspects (fears, wishes, dreams) to another (Disclosing yourself).
• Altruism – Unselfishness, being nice, unconditional help to others.  This positive social interaction dictates the very quality of a hero.
• Bystander Effect – Diminished possibility of giving aid when other bystanders are present.  Or failure to take responsibility of the situation when others are around.  In order for a bystander to give aid to someone in need, 3 steps must be achieved :

1. The incident is noticed
2. The incident is acknowledged as an emergency
3. Responsibility of the incident is achieved

• Social exchange theory – (reciprocity norm) social interactions are regarded as an exchange process where the goal is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.
• Superordinate Goals – Common goals that overlook individual differences and acquired through total cooperation.
• GRIT – Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction.  Strategy for reduction of international tensions through win-win attitudes and communication.

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

Percentile Rank – A percentage that describes your rank among those also being evaluated.  I.e. if your percentile rank on a test is 90, then your score is higher than 90% of the class.  It is impossible to get 100% percentile rank because you cannot get higher than everyone in the class, including yourself.

• Mean – The average score. Add all the numbers up and divide by number of terms. The mean of {2,2,3,10,98} is 23.
• Median – The middle point of all the terms such that half is above the number and half is below the number (50th percentile).  Arrange the number from highest to lowest or vice versa and find the number in the middle. The median of {2,2,3,10,96} is 3.
• Mole – The number that occurs the most. Count to see which number appears the most. The mode of the {2,2,3,10,98} is 2.
• Range – The range of the scores is the difference between the highest number and the lowest number.  The range of GPA score is from 0.0 to 4.0.
• Standard Deviation – A measurement of how far scores differ/deviate from the mean. The standard deviation of {5,6,5,6,6,7,5,4} is very low because terms hardly deviate from the mean of 5.5.  Whereas, the standard deviation of {5,10,8,18,-6,5,-7,22} is high.

1. Find the Standard Deviation of {2,3,3,4}
2. Find the mean.                                                               (2+3+3+4)/4 = 3
3. Subtract the mean from each term and square it.           (2-3)²=1, (3-3)²=0, (3-3)²=0, (4-3)²=1
4. Find the average of the deviations from the mean.       (1+0+0+1)/4 = 0.5
5. Square root the average and that’s the standard deviation   (0.5)^1/2 = 0.7071
6. Normally this number should be rounded to the same decimal place as the data.  But 0.7071 is shown for better understanding. 0.7071 ! 1

• Normal curve or more commonly known as the bell curve is a distribution graph that dictates 68% of the scores should circa the mean.  More specifically, 68% of the scores should fall within 1 standard deviation and 95% should fall within 2 standard deviations from the mean.
• Scatterplot – A graphical representation of data by usage of dots.  The degree of cluster or formation of a slope can dictate the correlation between the two variables.
• Correlation – The relationship between 2 events. I.e. Traffic accidents increase with increasing temperatures; businesses drop as Christmas ends.

 

Correlation Coefficient – A proportional number that measures correlation – how strongly two events vary together.

• Positive Correlation – The two events increase and/or decrease together.  For example, increasing study time positively correlates with increasing grades or decreased food consumption positively correlates with decreased excitability.  Positive correlation coefficients are positive numbers ranging from 0.00 (no correlation) to 1.00 (perfect correlation).  In a scatterplot graph, a positive correlation exists if a positive slope is seen.
• Negative Correlation – One event increases and the other decreases or vice versa.  For example, decreasing number of hours of sleep negatively correlates with increases traffic accidents or increasing alcohol consumption decreases alertness.  Negative correlation coefficients are negative numbers ranging from –1.00 (perfect correlation) to 0.00 (no correlation).  In a scatterplot, negative a correlation exists if a negative slope is seen.  * Be sure to remember that CORRELATIONS DO NOT NECESSARILY MEAN CAUSATION.  If car accidents increase with increasing temperatures, it does not necessarily mean that hot temperatures cause more traffic accidents!!
• Be aware of ILLUSORY CORRELATION – seeing relationships between something when there is none.  If you believe that black-colored dogs are more aggressive than white-colored dogs, then you will be more likely to notice and recall events where black-colored dogs show aggressiveness to confirm your belief (also know as “self -serving bias”).
• Regression toward the mean – Tendency for extreme values to go back (“regress”) to the average value (mean).  I.e. If you normally get 80% on your tests and suddenly you got an extreme (unusual) score of 50%, then on your next test you are likely to get around 80% again.
• Statistical Significance – A measure of how likely an event is due to chance alone.  I.e. If average marks concerning two classes are statistically significant, then the marks are actually different, not due to random chance or sampling errors.  Statistical significance is usually determined by mathematical analysis of the samples.

 

Bibliography

Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998

A Brief History-

• Wilhelm Wundt- founded first research lab in 1879- birth of scientific psychology
• Structuralism – studied consciousness- introspection, examining one’s mind and what one is thinking and feeling. Edward Titchener
• Functionalism- look at function not structure, stress adaptation to the environment.
• William James (Principles of Psychology in 1890) John Dewey
• Gestalt psychology – focus on the totality of perception, Max Wertheimer
• Psychoanalysis- Sigmund Freud- focus on role of unconscious conflicts, the process of raising these conflicts to a level of awareness is the goal of psychoanalysis

Current Views of Psychology-

• Neurobiology- Behavior viewed in terms of biological responses
• Behaviorism- Behavior viewed as a product of learned responses.
• Humanism- Behavior viewed as a reflection of internal growth. Free will, self-actualization, Carl Rogers, client-centered therapy
• Psychodynamic – Behavior viewed as a reflection of unconscious aggressive and sexual impulses
• Cognitive Behavior viewed as a product of various internal sentences or thoughts.
• Sociocultural – Behavior viewed as strongly influenced by the rules and expectations of specific social groups or cultures.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Psychology- the scientific study of the behavior of living things
4 goals- describe, understand, predict and control
theory – general framework for scientific study; smaller aspects can be tested
Charles Darwin – theories led to comparative psychology, inspired early functionalists
Wilhelm Wundt- ‘father of psychology’, first scientific lab
Introspection- the process of looking into yourself and describing what is there
Structuralism- the first theoretical school in psychology, stated that all complex substances could be separated and analyzed into component elements
Sigmund Freud- psychodynamic approach, emphasis on the unconscious
William James- wrote ‘Principles of Psychology’, a functionalist, coined the phrase ‘stream of consciousness’
Functionalist – asked what the mind does and why, believed that all behavior and mental processes help organisms to adapt to a changing environment
John. B. Watson- behaviorist, Little Albert
Gestalt psychology –emphasized the organizational processes in behavior, rather than the content of behavior, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Eclecticism – the process of making your own system by borrowing from two or more other systems.
Neurobiological approach (medical)- viewing behavior as the result of nervous system functions and biology
Behavioral approach –view behavior as the product of learning and associations
B. F. Skinner- behaviorist, operant conditioning
Humanistic approach- believe that people are basically good and capable of helping themselves.
Carl Rogers- a humanist
Psychoanalysis- a system of viewing the individual as the product of unconscious forces
Cognitive approach- emphasizing how humans use mental processes to handle problems or develop certain personality characteristics
Sociocultural approach – behavior viewed as strongly influenced by the rules and expectations of specific social groups or cultures
Placebo – a ‘medicine’ with no active ingredients
Double-blind study- neither participants or researchers know who is in which group
Hypothesis- a statement of the results that the experimenter expects
Subjects- people or animals in the experiment
Independent variable- factor that the experimenter manipulates in a study
Dependent variable- the factor in a study that changes as a result of changes in the IV
Confounding variable- factors that may cause the DV to change other than the IV
Field experiments- research that takes place outside the laboratory
Experimental group- the group that gets the changes in the IV
Control group- this group is for comparison and doesn’t get the changed IV
Survey- method of research using questions on feelings opinions, or behavior patterns
Sample- a group that represents a larger group
Naturalistic observation- research method that involves studying subjects without their being aware that they are being watched
Interview- a research method that involves studying people face to face and asking questions
Case study method- research that collects lengthy, detailed info. About a person’s background, usually for treatment
Cross-sectional method- looks at different age groups at the same time in order to understand changes that occur during the life span
Longitudinal method- studies the same group of people over a long period of time
Reliability – results of a test or study must be reproducible
Validity – measures what the psychologist wishes to measure
Construct validity – the extent to which a test measures something – a theoretical construct
Criterion-related validity- refers to how effective a test is in predicting an individual’s behavior in other specified situations (ex. SAT)
Informed consent – telling subjects all features of the experiment prior to the study
Inferential statistics – used to measure sampling error, draw conclusions from data, and test hypotheses (ex. T-test, chi-squares, analyses of variance)
Descriptive statistics – answer the question what is the data, include measures of central tendency
Mean- average
Median- middle number
Mode – most frequent number
Variability- how the data spreads across a graph (range, standard deviation, Z-
Correlation – the relationship between two sets of scores, range between +1.00 and –1.00, the closer to 1 the stronger the correlation
Z-score –a way of expressing a score’s distance from the mean in terms of the standard deviation

HISTORY AND METHODS QUIZ
1. The essence of the experimental method is
A. accurate calculation of correlations
B. obtaining direct reports from subjects about their subjective experiences.
C. careful measurement and record keeping
D. using control to identify cause and effect connections

2. Which of the following is an appropriate use of naturalistic observation?
A. to raise questions and suggest hypotheses
B. to develop formal psychological theory
C. to test hypotheses derived from theory
D. to answer questions about cause and effect relationships

3. You are at a lecture about the history of psychology and the speaker states that Wilhelm Wundt’s theory of structuralism was the first scientific psychological theory. On what historical fact might the speaker be basing her or his argument?
A. Wundt was internationally known at the time, and this led credence to his theory in the scientific community.
B. Wundt studied under Ivan Pavlov for his graduate training, and Pavlov required scientific methods to be used.
C. Structuralism was based on the results of his introspection experiments, so it is, at least in part, empirical.
D. Structuralism was based on careful anecdotes gathered from Wundt’s extensive clinical career.
E. Wundt was the first person to study psychology in an academic setting

4. In order to summarize or organize a series of observations in some meaningful way psychologists may develop
A. hypotheses
B. experiments
C. surveys
D. theories

5. In the simplest experiment, the two groups of subjects are treated exactly alike except for the __ variable.
A. independent
B. dependent
C. extraneous
D. control

6. Sigmund Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind
A. was revolutionary because it was the first comprehensive explanation of human thought and behavior.
B. Resulted from discoveries about the human brain obtained by cadaver dissection.
C. Is outdated and has no relevance for modern psychology.
D. Focused entirely on human males’ sex drive.
E. Depends on the idea that humans can remember events but not be consciously aware of the memory.

7. The conditions that a researcher wishes to prevent from affection the experiment are called
A. constants
B. dependent variables
C. extraneous variables
D. independent variables

8. In what way might a behaviorist disagree with a cognitive psychologist about the cause of aggression?
A. A behaviorist might state that aggression is caused by memories or ways we think about aggressive behavior, while a cognitive psychologist might say aggression is caused by a past repressed experience.
B. A behaviorist might state that aggression is a behavior encouraged by our genetic code, while a cognitive psychologist might state that aggression is caused by memories or ways we think about aggressive behavior.
C. A behaviorist might state that aggression is caused by past rewards for aggressive behavior, while a cognitive psychologist might believe aggression is caused by an expressed desire to fulfill certain life needs.
D. A behaviorist might state that aggression is caused by past rewards for aggressive behavior, while a cognitive psychologist might believe aggression is caused by memories or ways we think about aggressive behavior.
E. A behaviorist would not disagree with a cognitive psychologist about aggression because they both believe that aggressive behavior is caused by the way we cognitively process certain behaviors.

9. A researcher wants to determine the effect of sleep deprivation on human problem solving. Subjects in an appropriate control group for such an experiment would be described as having
A. much more sleep than normal.
B. Much less sleep than normal
C. A normal amoount of sleep
D. The same amount of sleep as the experimental group

10. Which type of variable is measured in both the experimental and control groups of an experiment?
A. the dependent variable
B. the independent variable
C. extraneous variables
D. the reference variable

11. Dr. Marco explains to a client that his feelings. Of hostility toward a coworker are most likely caused by the way the client interprets the coworker’s actions, and the way he thinks that people should behave at work, Dr. Marco is most likely working from what perspective?
A. behavioral
B. cognitive
C. psychoanalytic
D. humanist
E. social-cultural

12. In the traditional learning experiment the effect of practice on performance is investigated. Performance is the ___ variable
A. independent
B. extraneous
C. control
D. dependent

13. One of the limitations of the survey method is
A. observer bias
B. that it sets up an artificial situation
C. that replies may not be accurate
D. the self-fulfilling prophecy

14. Which of the following is not a goal of psychology?
A. description of behavior
B. prediction of behavior
C. depiction of behavior
D. understanding behavior

15. Control is an important goal of psychology. For most psychologists, control means
A. heavy reliance upon rewards rather than punishments
B. manipulation of behavior by government, educators, scientists, or authorities
C. altering conditions that influence behavior in predictable ways

16. Professor Ma wants to design a project studying emotional response to date rape. He advertises for participants in the school newspaper, informs them about the nature of the study, gets their consent, conducts an interview, and debriefs them about the results when the experiment is over. If you were on the IRB, which ethical consideration would you most likely have the most concern about in Professor Ma’s study?
A. Coercion
B. Deception
C. confounding variables
D. anonymity
E. clear scientific purpose

BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR
THE HUMAN BRAIN

The influence of biology (sometimes called the neuroscience or biopsychological perspective) is growing. Some researchers predict that someday psychology will be a specialty within the field of biology. An understanding of the biological principles relevant to psychology is needed to understand current psychological thinking.

The human brain consists of three major divisions; hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain

Brain Structure
1. Hindbrain- structures in the top part of the spinal cord, controls basic biological functions that keep us alive.
a. Medulla- controls blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing
b. Pons-the hindbrain with the mid and forebrain, also involved in the control of facial expressions
c. Cerebellum- portion of the lower brain that coordinates and organizes bodily movements for balance and accuracy.
2. Midbrain-between the hind and forebrain, coordinates simple movements with sensory information.
3. Forebrain- controls what we think of as thought and reason.
a. Thalamus- portion of the lower brain that functions primarily as a central relay station for incoming and outgoing messages from the body to the brain and the brain to the body
b. Hypothalamus- portion of the lower brain that regulates basic needs (hunger, thirst) and emotions such as pleasure, fear, rage, and sexuality
c. Amygdala and Hippocampus- two arms surrounding the thalamus, important in how we process and perceive memory and emotion
NOTE: The three parts above are grouped together and called the limbic system because they all deal with aspects of emotion and memory.

What is a Neuron?
A neuron is a nerve cell. The brain is made up of about 100 billion neurons.
Neurons are similar to other cells in the body in some ways such as:
1. Neurons are surrounded by a membrane.
2. Neurons have a nucleus that contains genes.
3. Neurons contain cytoplasm, mitochondria and other "organelles".

However, neurons differ from other cells in the body in some ways such as:
1. Neurons have specialized projections called dendrites and axons. Dendrites bring information to the cell body and axons take information away from the cell body.
2. Neurons communicate with each other through an electrochemical process.
3. Neurons form specialized connections called "synapses" and produce special chemicals called "neurotransmitters" that are released at the synapse.

It has been estimated that there are 1 quadrillion synapses in the human brain. That's 1015 or 1,000,000,000,000,000 synapses! This is equal to about a half-billion synapses per cubic millimeter. (Statistic from Changeux, J-P. and Ricoeur, P., What Makes Us Think?, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000, p. 78)

How big is the brain? How much does the brain weigh?
The adult human brain weighs between 1300 g and 1400 g (about 3 lbs). A newborn human brain weighs between 350 and 400 g. For comparison:
elephant brain = 6,000 g
chimpanzee brain = 420 g
rhesus monkey brain = 95 g
beagle dog brain = 72 g
cat brain = 30 g
rat brain = 2 g
The picture to the right is a human brain.
(Image provided by Dr. Wally Welker, Univ. of Wisconsin Brain Collection)
Ways of studying the brain: Accidents, Lesions, Electroencephalogram, Computerized axial tomography, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Positron emission tomography, Functional MRI, Neuroanatomy

Terms and Definitions
Neuron – a nerve cell, which transmits electrical and chemical information throughout the body
dendrite- part of the neuron that receives information from the axons of other nerve cells
Axon- part of the neuron that carries messages away from one neuron to the dendrites of another Cell body, or soma- contains the nucleus and other parts of the cell needed to sustain its life
Myelin sheath- a fatty covering around the axon that speeds neural impulses
Terminal buttons- the branched end of the axon that contains neurotransmitters
Vesicles – bubblelike containers of neurotransmitters, located at the end of an axon
Neurotransmitters– chemicals in the endings of nerve cells that send information across the synapse
Acetylcholine – neurotransmitter that regulates basic bodily processes such as movement
Dopamine – a neurotransmitter involved in the control of bodily movements ( involved in Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s)
Endorphins – neurotransmitters that relieve pain and increase our sense of wellbeing
Serotonin - mood control
Synapse - the junction point of two or more neurons; a connection is made by neurotransmitters.
Central nervous system - brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system - all other nerves
Somatic nervous system - controls voluntary movements
Autonomic nervous system - controls involuntary movements
Sympathetic nervous system - speeds things up- prepares body for fight or flight
Parasympathetic nervous system - brings the body back to normal
Cerebral cortex - covers the lower brain and controls mental processes such as thought
Frontal lobes – contains the motor strip and frontal association area
Frontal association area – plays an important part in integrating personality and in forming complex thoughts
Motor strip - band running down the side of the frontal lobe that controls all bodily movements
Parietal lobes – area that contains the sensory strip
Sensory strip - band running down the side of he parietal lobe that registers and provides all sensation
Occipital lobes - area that interprets visual information
Temporal lobes - area responsible for hearing and some speech functions
Lobe - major division of the brain
Hemispheres - one-half of the two halves of the brain; controls the opposite side of the body
Brain lateralization
Corpus callosum - bundle of nerve fibers that transfers info. From one hemisphere to the other
Fissure - a lengthy depression marking off an area of the brain
Reticular activating system - the alertness control center of the brain that regulates the activity level of the body
Endocrine system – system of all the glands and their chemical messages taken together
Hormones – chemical regulators that control bodily processes such as emotional responses, growth, and sexuality
Pituitary gland – the master gland of the body that activates other glands and controls the growth hormone
Growth hormone – hormone that regulates the growth process
Thyroid gland – controls and regulates the speed of bodily processes called metabolism
Metabolism – the speed at which the body operates of the speed at which it uses up energy
Adrenal glands – glands that release the hormone that causes excitement in order to prepare the body for an emergency
Adrenaline – chemical that prepares the body for emergency activity by increasing blood pressure, breathing rate, and energy level

BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR QUIZ
1. Blindness could result from damage to which cortex and lobe of the brain?
A. visual cortex in the frontal lobe
B. visual cortex in the temporal lobe
C. sensory cortex in the parietal lobe
D. visual cortex in the occipital lobe
E. cerebral cortex in the occipital lobe

2. Paralysis of the left arm might be explained by a problem in the
A. motor cortex in the frontal lobe in the left hemisphere.
B. Motor cortex in the frontal lobe in the right hemisphere.
C. Sensorimotor cortex in the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere.
D. Motor cortex in the parietal lobe in the left hemisphere.
E. Motor cortex in the occipital lobe in the right hemisphere.

3. Deafness can result from damage to the inner ear or damage to what area of the brain?
A. Connections between the auditory nerve and the auditory cortex in the frontal lobe.
B. Connections between the auditory nerve and the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe.
C. Connections between the areas of the sensory cortex that receive messages from the ears and the auditory cortex.
D. Connections between the hypothalamus and the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe.
E. Connections between the left and right sensory areas of the cerebellum.

4. According to the theory of evolution, why might we call some parts of the brain the old brain and some parts of the new brain?
A. Old brain parts are what exist in very young children, and the new brain develops later
B. The old brain developed first according to evolution.
C. The old brain becomes more active as we grow older.
D. The new brain deals with new information, while the old brain deals with information gathered when we were children.
E. The old brain is most affected by age deterioration (dementias) while the new brain remains unaffected.

5. Which chemicals pass across the synaptic gap and increase the possibility the next neuron in the chain will fire?
A. synaptic peptides
B. inhibitory neurotransmitters
C. adrenaline-type exciters
D. excitatory neurotransmitters
E. potassium and sodium

6. You eat some bad sushi and feel that you are slowly losing control over your muscles. The bacteria you ingested from the bad sushi most likely interferes with the use of
A. Serotonin
B. Dopamine
C. acetylcholine
D. thorazine
E. adrenaline

7. The three major categories researchers use to organize the entire brain are the
A. old brain, new brain, and cerebral cortex
B. lower, middle, and upper brain.
C. Hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain.
D. Brain stem, limbic system, and cerebral cortex
E. Neurons, synapses, and cerebral cortex.

8. A spinal reflex differs from a normal sensory and motor reaction in that
A. a spinal reflex occurs only in response to extremely stressful stimuli.
B. In a spinal reflex, the spine moves the muscles in response as soon as the sensory information reaches the spine while usually the impulse must reach the brain before a response.
C. In a normal sensory/motor reaction, the spine transmits the information through afferent nerve fibers, while reflex reactions are transmitted along special efferent nerves.
D. Spinal reflexes are part of the central nervous system response, while normal sensory/motor reactions are part of the peripheral nervous system.
E. Spinal reflexes occur only in animals because humans are born without instinctual responses.

9. Antidepressant drugs like Prozac are often used to treat mood disorders. According to what you know about their function, which neurotransmitter system do these types of drugs try to affect?
A. serotonin
B. adrenaline
C. acetylcholine
D. endorphins
E. morphine

10. Which sentence most closely describes neural transmission?
A. An electric charge is created in the neuron, the charge travels down the cell, and chemicals are released that cross the synapse to the next cell.
B. A chemical change occurs within the cell, the change causes an electric charge to be produced, and the charge jumps the gap between the nerve cells.
C. The electric charge produced chemically inside a group of neurons causes chemical changes in surrounding cells.
D. Neurotransmitters produced in the hindbrain are transmitted to the forebrain, causing electric changes in the cerebral cortex.
E. Neural transmission is an electrochemical process both inside and outside the cell.

11. Dr. Dahab, a brain researcher, is investigating the connection between certain environmental stimuli and brain processes. Which types of brain scans is he most likely to use?
A. MRI and CAT
B. CAT and EKG
C. PET and EEG
D. EKG and CAT
E. Lesioning and MRI

12. Split-brain patients are unable to
A. coordinate movements between their major and minor muscle groups.
B. Speak about information received exclusively in their right hemisphere.
C. Speak about information received exclusively in their left hemisphere.
D. Solve abstract problems involving integrating logical (left-hemisphere) and spatial (right hemisphere) information.
E. Speak about information received exclusively through their left ear, left eye, or left side of their bodies.

13. When brain researchers refer to brain plasticity , they are talking about
A. the brain’s ability to regrow damaged neurons.
B. The surface texture and appearance caused by the layer known as the cerebral cortex.
C. The brain’s versatility caused by the millions of different neural connections.
D. Our adaptability to different problems ranging from survival needs to abstract reasoning.
E. New connections forming in the brain to take over for damaged sections.

14. Mr. Spam is a 39-year-old male who has been brought into your neurology clinic by his wife. She has become increasingly alarmed by her husband’s behavior over the last four months. You recommend a CAT scan to look for tumors in the brain. Which two parts of the brain would you predict are being affected by the tumors? List of symptoms: vastly increased appetite, body temperature fluctuations, decreased sexual desire, jerky movements, poor balance when walking and standing, inability to throw objects, and exaggerated efforts to coordinate movements in a task
A. motor cortex and emotion cortex
B. motor cortex and hypothalamus
C. hypothalamus and cerebellum
D. cerebellum and medulla
E. thalamus and motor cortex

15. In most people, which one of the following is a specific function of the left hemisphere that is typically not controlled by the right hemisphere?
A. producing speech
B. control of the left hand
C. spatial reasoning
D. hypothesis testing
E. abstract reasoning

DEVELOPMENT
From cradle to grave -- major issues, methods, prenatal development, theories

I. Development involves the processes and stages of growth from conception across the life span. It encompasses changes in physical, cognitive, and social behaviors.

II. Major issues
A. Nature versus nurture-are we more affected by heredity or environment?
B. Continuity versus discontinuity-is developmental change gradual, or do we progress through distinct stages?

III. Methods
A. Cross-sectional research involves studying a variety of ages at a given point in time.
B. Longitudinal research follows the same group of subjects for many years.
C. In cohort-sequential research, several age groups are studied periodically.
D. Historical research revolves around the particular historical circumstances of an era

IV. Prenatal development

A. Physical development

1. Cephalocaudal (head to tail) development
2. Proximodistal (from the center outward) development

C. Genetics

1. Genotype refers to the total genetic composition of a person.
2. Phenotype refers to the observable features of the person.

D. Teratogens are disease agents, drugs, and other environmental agents that can cause birth defects during the prenatal period.

V. Infancy

A. Physical development

1. Growth rate declines throughout infancy but is faster than during any other postnatal period.
2. Maturation and learning combine to determine skill development and replace reflexes.

B. Social development

1. Harry Harlow's surrogate mother research with monkeys demonstrated the importance of contact comfort.
2. Attachment style

a. Secure attachment means the infant seeks proximity, contact, and interaction with the caregiver after separation.
b. Insecure attachment means the infant cannot be calmed or ignores the caregiver after separation.
c. Stranger anxiety peaks at about 6 months; separation anxiety peaks at about 18 months.

E. Cognitive development

1. Infants show a preference for face-like patterns
2. Visual cliff experiments suggest that infants perceive depth by the time they are able to crawl.

Childhood and Adolescence

I. Childhood

A. Physical development

1. more extensive neural networks continue to develop in the brain
2. Growth rate continues to decline

B. Social development

1. Interaction with the environment provides a sense of gender identity.
2. A greater sense of independence develops as peer relationships begin to become more important.

C. Cognitive development continues at a rapid rate. There are advances in the areas of

1. Leaming
2. Language
3. Thinking skills

II.    Adolescence

A. Physical/ sexual development-puberty
B. Social development

1. Peer groups take on an increasingly important role.
2. Opposite-sex relationships gradually become less recreational and more intimate

C. Cognitive development

1. Capability for logical, hypothetical, and introspective thinking develops
2. Growing awarenesss of one's own mental processes develops-metacognition

Adolescent development relates to many important societal problems, such as suicide, teen pregnancy, and eating disorders.

III.    Adult and later years
I. Adulthood

A. Physical changes

1. Abilities peak and begin a gradual (1% a year) decline.
2. Women undergo menopause, with its hormonal and reproductive changes.

B. Social changes center around such issues as:

1. Mate selection
2. Parenting
3. Career selection

C. Cognitive changes vary significantly with some people showing declines and others not.

1. Reaction time appears to decline.
2. Some adults show a decline in memory.

II. Later years

A. Physical changes

1. There is a general decline in muscle tone and sensory abilities
2.Senile dementia and Alzheimer's disease are two disorders that may develop.

B. Social issues include:

1. Retirement
2. Social isolation, which may be caused by loss of spouse and others, lack of mobility and declining health

C. Cognitive declines are likely to continue.

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

A. Sensorimotor stage, birth to 18 months

1. Characteristics

a. Cognitive structures or schema are the means by which humans acquire and apply knowledge about their world.
b. Assimilation is the use of available cognitive structures to gain new information.
c. Accommodation is the process of modifying cognitive structures in the face of newly realized complexities in the environment.

2. Developmental achievements

a. Circular reactions are repetitive motions babies engage in as they gradually learn to explore their environment nonreflexively.
b. object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when --hidden from view.

B. Preoperational stage, 18 months to 6 years

1. Characteristics

a. Egocentrism is a limited ability to comprehend a situation from a perspective one has not experienced.
b. Animism is the tendency to attribute life to inanimate things.
c. Artificialism is the tendency to believe everything is the product of human action.

2. Developmental achievements

a. Symbolic representation and language
b. Readiness for operational thought

C. Concrete-operational stage, 6 years to early adolescence

1. Characteristics

a. Use of simple logic
b. Use of simple mental manipulations

2. Developmental achievements

a. Conservation is the principle that matter does not increase or decrease because of a change in form.
b. Reversibility is the understanding that mathematical operations can be undone.
c. Class inclusion is the ability to understand the hierarchical nature of classification groups.

D. Formal-operations stage, adolescence and adulthood

1. Characteristics.

a. Hypothetical and deductive reasoning.
b. Propositional logic

2. Developmental achievement indicates a readiness for adult intellectual tasks.
3. Not all adolescents or adults achieve formal operational reasoning ability.

E. Critique of Piaget

1. Development may be more gradual than Piaget's stages imply.
2. The nature of Piaget's tasks may have underestimated cognitive skills of children.

Kohlberg's theory of moral development

A. Preconventional level

1. Stage 1: characterized by avoidance of punishment
2. Stage 2: characterized by a desire to further one's own interests

B. Conventional level

1. Stage 3: characterized by living up to the expectations of others
2. Stage 4: characterized by a sense of conscience and "doing one's duty"

C. Postconventional level

1. Stage 5: characterized by an understanding that values and rules are relative but generally need to be upheld
2. S Psychology tage 6: characterized by universal ethical principles

D. Critique of Kohlberg

1. Development may be more gradual and less sequential than Kohlberg's stages imply.
2. Gilligan and others have criticized the theory for undervaluing traditional female  traits, which focus on interpersonal issues.

Erikson's psychosocial theory of development

I. Background

A. Erikson was trained in the Freudian tradition, and the first four stages borrow from Freud's psychosexual stages.
B. The developmental task of each stage involves resolving the tension between two opposite outcomes.

II. The stages

A. Trust versus mistrust                         -infants
B. Autonomy versus shame and doubt    -toddlers
C. Iniative versus guilt                          -young children
D. Industry versus inferiority                  -older children
E. Identity versus role confusion             -adolescents
F. Intimacy versus isolation                    -young adults
G. Generativity versus stagnation            -adults
H. Ego integrity versus despair               -elderly

III. Critique of Erikson

A. There is no agreed-upon set of measures for the various stages.
B. The stages imply a rigidity of development that may not exist.
C. The theory may not reflect differences in personality development between men and women.

DEVELOPMENT

Developmental Psychology- Study of the changes that occur in people from birth through old age.
Cross sectional study- Method of studying developmental changes by examining groups
of subjects who are of different ages.
Cohort- Group of people born during the same period in historical time
Longitudinal study- Method of studying developmental changes by examining the same
group of subjects two or more times, as they grow older.
Biographical or retrospective study- Method of studying developmental changes by
reconstructing subject’s past through interviews and investigating the effects of events that occurred in the past on current behaviors.
Prenatal- Development from conception to birth
Embryo-Developing human between 2 weeks and 3 months after conception
Fetus- Developing human between 3 months after conception and birth
Placenta- Organ by which an embryo or fetus is attached to its mother’s uterus and that
nourishes it during prenatal development.
Critical period- Time when certain internal and external influences have a major effect on development; at other periods, the same influences will have little or no effect
Neonate - Newborn baby
Rooting reflex- Reflex that causes a newborn to turn its head toward something touching
its cheek and to grope around with its mouth
Swallowing reflex- Reflex that enables the newborn baby to swallow liquids without choking
Grasping reflex- Reflex that causes newborn babies to close their fists around anything
that is put in their hands
Stepping reflex- Reflex that causes newborn babies to make little stepping motions if they are held upright with their feet just touching a surface
temperament- Term  used by psychologists to describe the physical/emotional
characteristics of the newborn child and young infant; also referred to as personality
Maturation- Automatic biological unfolding of development in an organism as a function of the passage of time
Developmental norms-Ages by which an average child achieves various developmental milestones
Sensorimotor stage- In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development between birth and 2 years of age, in which the individual develops object permanence and acquires the ability to form mental representations
Object permanence -The concept that things continue to exist even when they are out of sight
Mental representation- Mental image or symbol used to think about or remember an object, a person, or an event
Preoperational stage- In Piaget’s theory the stage of cognitive development.between 2 and 7, in which the individual becomes able to use mental representations and language to describe remember and reason
Egocentric- Unable to see things from another’s point of view
Formal operations- In Piaget’s theory, the state between 11 and 15, in which the indiv.becomes capable of abstract thought
Holophrase- One-word sentences, commonly used by children under 2
Language acquisition device- An internal mechanism for processing speech that is ‘wired In to’ all humans
Imprinting- Form of primitive bonding seen in some species of animals’ the newborn animal has a tendency to follow the first moving thing it sees after it is born or hatched
Attachment- Emotional bond that develops in the first year of life that makes human babies cling to their caregivers for safety and comfort
Autonomy- Sense of independence; desire not to be controlled by others
Socialization- Process by which children learn the behaviors and attitudes appropriate to their family and their culture
solitary play- A child engaged in some activity alone; the earliest form of play
Parallel play- Two children playing side by side at the same activities, paying little or no Attention to each other; the earliest kind of social interaction between toddlers
Cooperative play- Two or more children engaged in play that requires interaction
Sex role awareness- A little girl’s knowledge that she is a girl and a little boy’s knowledge that he is a boy
Gender constancy- The realization by a child that gender cannot be changed
Sex role awareness- Knowledge of what behavior is appropriate for each gender
Sex-typed behavior- Socially prescribed ways of behaving that differ for boys and girls
Puberty- Onset of sexual maturation, with accompanying physical development
Menarche- First menstrual period
Imaginary audience- Elkind’s term for adolescents; delusion that they are constantly being observed by others
Personal fable- Elkind’s term for adolescents; delusion that they are unique, very important and invulnerable
Identity formation- Erikson’s term for the development of a stable sense of self necessity
to make the transition from dependence on others to dependence on oneself
Identity crisis- Period of intense self-examination and decision making’ part of the process of identity formation
Peer group- A network of same-aged friends and acquaintances who give one another
emotional and social support
Clique- Group of adolescents with similar interests and strong mutual attachment
Anorexia nervosa- A serious eating disorder that is associated with an intense fear of  weight gain and a distorted body image
Bulimia- An eating disorder characterized by binges of eating followed by self induced vomiting
midlife crisis- A time when adults discover they no longer feel fulfilled in their jobs or  personal lives and attempt to make a decisive shift in career or lifestyle
Midlife transition- According to Levinson, a process whereby adults assess the past and
formulate new goals for the future
Menopause- Time in a woman’s life when menstruation ceases
Alzheimer’s disease- A disorder common in late adulthood that is characterized by progressive losses in memory and changes in personality.  It is believed to be caused by a deterioration of the brain’s structure and function.

DEVELOPMENT QUIZ

1. Some researchers consider developmental psychology an applied research topic because
A. it is more easily applied to people’s lives than research such as behaviorism.
B. Researchers apply findings and theories from other areas of psychology to the specific topic of human development
C. It is more commonly studied by a graduate student rather than an undergraduate because of the applications for other research.
D. Doing original research in this area is difficult, so most of the research is about application.
E. Pure research is difficult to gain support for, especially when a researcher needs to recruit children as participants.

2. You read in your philosophy class textbook that humans are born “Tabula Rasa” or “blank slates.”  As a student of psychology, which of the following responses would you have?
A. The statement is incorrect.  Humans may be bon without reflexes and instincts, but we are born with the ability to learn them.
B. The statement is correct.  Humans are born without instincts or other mechanisms in place to help us survive.
C. The statement is correct.  Humans are born with a certain number of neurons, but most develop later as we learn.
D. The statement is incorrect.  Humans are born with a set of reflexes that help us survive.
E. The statement is impossible to prove since we cannot infer what babies know or do not know due to their lack of language.

3. Which of the following statements is most true about how a newborn’s senses function?
A. A newborn’s senses function the same as an adult’s since the sensory apparatus develops in the womb.
B. All of our senses function normally when we are newborns except taste due to lack of stimulation in the womb.
C. All of our senses function normally when we are newborns except touch due to lack of stimulation in the womb.
D. A newborn’s senses function at a very low level but develop very quickly with experience.
E. Most senses function normally, but sight develops slowly with experience.

4. Most prenatal influences on humans are genetic or hormonal in origin except for
A. teratogens.
B. Stress on the mother.
C. Parents’ level of education about fetal development.
D. Family history of mental illness.

Operant conditioning occurring before birth.

SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
 
Sensation -Experience of sensory stimulation, the activation or our senses
Perception -Process of creating meaningful patterns from raw sensory information

ENERGY SENSES
VISION

Vision is the dominant sense in human beings.  Sighted people use vision to gather information about their environment more than any other sense.  The process of vision involves several steps.

Step 1: Gathering light
Step 2: Within the eye

Cornea -The transparent protective coating over the front part of the eye
Pupil -small opening in the iris through which light enters the eye.
Iris -colored part of the eye.
Lens -transparent part of the eye inside the pupil that focuses light onto the retina
Retina -lining of the eye containing receptor cells that are sensitive to light

Step 3: Transduction

Transduction –process by which sensory signals are transformed into neural impulses   
Receptor cell -Specialized cell that responds to a particular type of energy.   
Rods -Receptor cells in the retina responsible for night vision and perception of brightness.   
Cones -Receptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision   
Fovea -Area of the retina that is the center of the visual field   
Optic nerve - The bundle of axons of ganglion cells that carries neural messages from each eye to the brain.   
Blind spot - Place on the retina where the axons of all the ganglion cells leave the eye and  where there are no receptors Optic chiasm -Point near the base of the brain where some fibers in the optic nerve from each eye cross to the other side of the brain

Step 4: In the Brain

Theories or color vision-
Trichromatic theory -Theory of color vision that holds that all color perception derives from three different color receptors in the retina
Opponent-process theory - Theory of color vision that holds that three sets of color receptors respond in an either/or fashion to determine the color you experience
Colorblindness -Partial or total inability to perceive hues.
Trichromats -People who have normal color vision
Monochromats -People who are totally color blind
Dichromats - People who are blind to either red-green or yellow-blue

HEARING
 
The ears contain structures for both the sense of hearing and the sense of balance. The eighth cranial nerve (vestibulocochlear nerve made up of the auditory and vestibular nerves) carries nerve impulses for both hearing and balance from the ear to the brain.    

Amplitude – the height of the wave , determines the loudness of the sound, measured in decibels
Frequency - The number of cycles per second in a wave; in sound, the primary determinant of pitch
Hertz (Hz) - Cycles per second; unit of measurement for the frequency of waves
Pitch - Auditory experience corresponding primarily to frequency of sound vibrations, resulting in a higher or lower tone
Decibel -The magnitude of a wave; in sound the primary determinant of loudness of sounds
Parts of the ear-
Ear canal – also called the auditory canal
Eardrum-
Hammer, anvil, stirrup - The three small bones in the middle ear that relay vibrations of the eardrum to the inner ear
Oval window - Membrane across the opening between the middle ear and inner ear that conducts vibrations to the cochlea
Round window - Membrane between the middle ear and inner ear that equalizes pressure in the inner ear.
Cochlea - Part of the inner ear containing fluid that vibrates which in turn causes the basilar membrane to vibrate.
Basilar membrane -Vibrating membrane in the cochlea of the inner ear; it contains sense receptors for sound
Organ of Corti -Structure on the surface of the basilar membrane that contains the receptors cells for hearing
Auditory nerve -The bundle of neurons that carries signals from each ear to the brain

PITCH THEORIES- As with color vision, two different theories describe the two processes involved in hearing pitch: place theory and frequency theory.

Place theory -Theory that pitch is determined by the location of greatest vibration of the basilar membrane
Frequency theory -Theory that pitch is determined by the frequency wigh which hair cells in the cochlea fire

DEAFNESS

Hearing Loss

People can lose all or some of their ability to hear because of loud noises, infections, head injuries, brain damage and genetic diseases. Hearing loss is common in older people. There are several types of hearing loss:

• Conductive Hearing Loss: occurs when sound vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear are blocked. This may be caused by ear wax in the auditory canal, fluid buildup in the middle ear, ear infections or abnormal bone growth.
• Sensorineural Hearing Loss: occurs when there is damage to the vestibulocochlear (auditory) nerve. This type of hearing loss may be caused by head injury, birth defects, high blood pressure or stroke.
• Presbycusis: occurs because of changes in the inner ear. This is a very common type of hearing loss that happens gradually in older age.
• Tinnitus: people with tinnitus hear a constant ringing or roaring sound. The cause of this ringing cannot always be found. Some cases of tinnitus are caused by ear wax, ear infections or a reaction to antibiotics, but there are many other possible causes of this disorder.

TOUCH

When our skin is indented, pierced, or experiences a change in temperature, our sense of touch is activated by this energy.
Gate control theory - Theory that a ‘neurological gate in the spinal cord controls the transmission of pain messages to the brain   

CHEMICAL SENSES
TASTE (GUSTATION)
Taste buds

Papillae-
Humans sense four different tastes: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter  

All other tastes come from a combination of these four basic tastes. Actually, a fifth basic taste called "Umami" has recently been discovered. Umami is a taste that occurs when foods with glutamate (like MSG) are eaten. Different parts of the tongue can detect all types of tastes. Morever, the simple tongue "taste map" that is found in many textbooks has been criticized for several reasons.

The actual organ of taste is called the "taste bud". Each taste bud (and there about about 10,000 taste buds in humans) is made up of many (between 50-150) receptor cells. Receptor cells live for only 1 to 2 weeks and then are replaced by new receptor cells. Each receptor in a taste bud responds best to one of the basic tastes. A receptor can respond to the other tastes, but it responds strongest to a particular taste.    

SMELL (OLFACTION)  
The Nose Knows    

The smells of a rose, perfume, freshly baked bread and cookies...these smells are all made possible because of your nose and brain. The sense of smell, called olfaction, involves the detection and perception of chemicals floating in the air. Chemical molecules enter the nose and dissolve in mucous within a membrane called the olfactory epithelium. In humans, the olfactory epithelium is located about 7 cm up and into the nose from the nostrils.
Olfactory epithelium - Nasal membranes containing receptor cells sensitive to odors
Pheromone - Chemical that communicates information to other organisms through smell
VESTIBULAR SENSE – tells us about how our body is oriented in space.
Semicircular canals - Structure in the inner ear particularly sensitive to body rotation.
Vestibular sacs - Sacs in the inner ear that are responsible for sensing gravitation and forward, backward, and vertical movement
KINESTHETIC SENSES -Senses of forces and movement of muscles
Stretch receptors -Receptors that sense muscle stretch and contraction
Golgi tendon organs -Receptors that sense movement of the tendons, which connect muscle to bone.

PERCEPTION
THRESHOLDS

Absolute threshold -The least amount of energy that can be detected as a stimulation 50 percent of the time
Subliminal- stimuli below our absolute threshold
Difference threshold -The smallest change in stimulation that can be detected 50 percent of the time
just-noticeable difference – the smallest amount of change needed in a stimulus before we detect a change
Weber’s Law -The principle that the just noticeable difference for any given sense is a constant proportion of the stimulation being judged. 

PERCEPTUAL THEORIES

Psychologists use several theories to describe how we perceive the world.
Signal detection theory- investigates the effects of the distractions and interference we experience while perceiving the world.
Response criteria
False positive

Top-Down Processing – we perceive by filling in gaps in what we sense
    Schemata
    Perceptual set
    Backmasking
Bottom-up Processing, also called feature analysis – we use only the features of the object itself to build a complete perception

GESTALT RULES
    Proximity
    Similarity
    Continuity
    Closure

CONSTANCY- Tendency to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite changes in sensory stimulation
Size constancy - Perception of an object as the same size regardless of the distance from which it is viewed
Shape constancy - Tendency to see an object as the same shape no matter what angle it is viewed from
Brightness constancy - Perception of brightness as the same, even though the amount of light reaching the retina changes

DEPTH CUES
Visual cliff experiment-
Monocular cues - Visual cues requiring the use of one eye
Interposition - Monocular distance cue in which one object, by partly blocking a second object, is perceived as being closer.
Linear perspective - Monocular cue to distance and depth based on the fact that two parallel lines seem to come together at the horizon
Relative size - Monocular cue in which closer objects seem larger than distant objects
Texture gradient -Course objects appear closer than smooth objects
Shadowing-
Binocular cues - Visual cues requiring the use of both eyes
Retinal disparity - Binocular distance cue based on the difference between the images
Convergence - cast on the two retinas when both eyes are focused on the same object
Stereoscopic vision - Combination of two retinal images to give a three-dimensional perceptual experience.

SENSATION AND PERCEPTION QUIZ

1. Our sense of smell may be a powerful trigger for memories because
A. we are conditioned from birth to make strong connections between smells and events.
B. The nerve connecting the olfactory bulb sends impulses directly to the limbic system
C. The receptors at the top of each nostril connect with the cortex
D. Smell is a powerful cue for encoding memories into long-term memory
E. Strong smells encourage us to process events deeply so they will most likely be remembered

2. The cochlea is responsible for
A. protecting the surface of the eye
B. transmitting vibrations received by the eardrum to the hammer, anvil, and stirrup.
C. The receptors at the top of each nostril conect with the cortex
D. Smell is a powerful cue for encoding memories into long-term memory
E. Strong smells encourage us to process events deeply so they will most likely be remembered.

3. In a perception research lab, you are asked to describe the shape of the top of a box as the box is slowly rotated. Which concept are the researchers most likely investigating?
A. feature detectors in the retina
B. feature detectors in the occipital lobe
C. placement of rods and cones in the retina
D. binocular depth cues
E. shape constancy

4. The blind spot in our eye results from
A. the lack of receptors at the spot where the optic nerve connects to the retina
B. the shadow the pupil makes on the retina
C. competing processing between the visual cortices in the left and right hemisphere
D. floating debris in the space between the lens and the retina
E. retinal damage from bright light

5. Smell and taste are called _______ because
A. energy senses; they send impulses to the brain in the form of electric energy
B. chemical senses; they detect chemicals in what we taste and smell
C. flavor senses; smell and taste combine to create flavor.
D. Chemical senses; they send impulses to the brain in the form of chemicals.
E. Memory senses; they both have powerful connections to memory

6. What is the principal difference between amplitude and frequency in the context of sound waves ?
A. Amplitude is the tone or timbre of a sound, while frequency is the pitch.
B. Amplitude is detected in the cochlea, while frequency is detected in the auditory cortex.
C. Amplitude is the height of the sound wave, while frequency is a measure of how frequently the sound waves pass a given point.
D. Both measure qualities of sound, but frequency is a more accurate measure since it measures the shapes of the waves rather than the strength of the waves.
E. Frequency is a measure for light waves, while amplitude is a measure for sound waves.

7. Weber’s law determines
A. absolute threshold.
B. Focal length of the eye.
C. Level of subliminal messages.
D. Amplitude of sound waves.
E. Just-noticeable difference.

8. Gate control theory refers to
A. which sensory impulses are transmitted first from each sense
B. which pain messages are perceived
C. interfering sound waves, causing some waves to be undetected
D. the gate at the optic chiasm controlling the destinaiton hemisphere for visual information from each eye.
E. How our minds choose to use either bottom-up or top-down processing.

9. If you had sight in only one eye, which of the following depth cues could you NOT use?
A. texture gradient
B. convergence
C. linear perspective
D. interposition
E. shading

10. Which of the following sentences best describes the relationship between sensation and perception?
A. Sensation is a strictly mechanical process, while perception is a cognitive process.
B. Perception is an advanced form of sensation.
C. Sensation happens in the senses, while perception happens in the brain.
D. Sensation is detecting stimuli, perception is interpreting stimuli detected.
E. Sensation involves learning and expectations, and perception does not.

11. What function does the retina serve?
A. The retinal contains the visual receptor cells
B. The retinal focuses light coming in the eye through the lens.
C. The retina determines how much light is let into the eye.
D. The retina determines which rods and cones will be activated by incoming light
E. The retina connects the two optic nerves and sends impulses to the left and right visual cortices.

12. Color blindness and color afterimages are best explained by what theory of color vision?
A. trichromatic theory
B. Visible hue theory
C. Opponent-process theory
D. Dichromatic theory
E. Binocular disparity theory

13. You are shown a picture of your grandfather’s face, but the eyes and mouth are blocked out.  You still recognize it as a picture of your grandfather. Which type of processing best explains this example of perception?
A. bottom-up processing
B. signal detection theory
C. top-down processing
D. opponent-process theory

14. What behavior would be difficult without our vestibular sense ?
A. integrating what we see and hear
B. writing our name
C. repeating a list of digits
D. walking a straight line with our eyes closed
E. reporting to a researcher the exact position and orientation of our limbs

SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
 
Sensation -Experience of sensory stimulation, the activation or our senses
Perception -Process of creating meaningful patterns from raw sensory information

ENERGY SENSES
VISION

Vision is the dominant sense in human beings.  Sighted people use vision to gather information about their environment more than any other sense.  The process of vision involves several steps.

Step 1: Gathering light
Step 2: Within the eye

Cornea -The transparent protective coating over the front part of the eye
Pupil -small opening in the iris through which light enters the eye.
Iris -colored part of the eye.
Lens -transparent part of the eye inside the pupil that focuses light onto the retina
Retina -lining of the eye containing receptor cells that are sensitive to light

Step 3: Transduction

Transduction –process by which sensory signals are transformed into neural impulses   
Receptor cell -Specialized cell that responds to a particular type of energy.   
Rods -Receptor cells in the retina responsible for night vision and perception of brightness.   
Cones -Receptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision   
Fovea -Area of the retina that is the center of the visual field   
Optic nerve - The bundle of axons of ganglion cells that carries neural messages from each eye to the brain.   
Blind spot - Place on the retina where the axons of all the ganglion cells leave the eye and  where there are no receptors Optic chiasm -Point near the base of the brain where some fibers in the optic nerve from each eye cross to the other side of the brain

Step 4: In the Brain

Theories or color vision-
Trichromatic theory -Theory of color vision that holds that all color perception derives from three different color receptors in the retina
Opponent-process theory - Theory of color vision that holds that three sets of color receptors respond in an either/or fashion to determine the color you experience
Colorblindness -Partial or total inability to perceive hues.
Trichromats -People who have normal color vision
Monochromats -People who are totally color blind
Dichromats - People who are blind to either red-green or yellow-blue

HEARING
 
The ears contain structures for both the sense of hearing and the sense of balance. The eighth cranial nerve (vestibulocochlear nerve made up of the auditory and vestibular nerves) carries nerve impulses for both hearing and balance from the ear to the brain.    

Amplitude – the height of the wave , determines the loudness of the sound, measured in decibels
Frequency - The number of cycles per second in a wave; in sound, the primary determinant of pitch
Hertz (Hz) - Cycles per second; unit of measurement for the frequency of waves
Pitch - Auditory experience corresponding primarily to frequency of sound vibrations, resulting in a higher or lower tone
Decibel -The magnitude of a wave; in sound the primary determinant of loudness of sounds
Parts of the ear-
Ear canal – also called the auditory canal
Eardrum-
Hammer, anvil, stirrup - The three small bones in the middle ear that relay vibrations of the eardrum to the inner ear
Oval window - Membrane across the opening between the middle ear and inner ear that conducts vibrations to the cochlea
Round window - Membrane between the middle ear and inner ear that equalizes pressure in the inner ear.
Cochlea - Part of the inner ear containing fluid that vibrates which in turn causes the basilar membrane to vibrate.
Basilar membrane -Vibrating membrane in the cochlea of the inner ear; it contains sense receptors for sound
Organ of Corti -Structure on the surface of the basilar membrane that contains the receptors cells for hearing
Auditory nerve -The bundle of neurons that carries signals from each ear to the brain

PITCH THEORIES- As with color vision, two different theories describe the two processes involved in hearing pitch: place theory and frequency theory.

Place theory -Theory that pitch is determined by the location of greatest vibration of the basilar membrane
Frequency theory -Theory that pitch is determined by the frequency wigh which hair cells in the cochlea fire

DEAFNESS

Hearing Loss

People can lose all or some of their ability to hear because of loud noises, infections, head injuries, brain damage and genetic diseases. Hearing loss is common in older people. There are several types of hearing loss:

• Conductive Hearing Loss: occurs when sound vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear are blocked. This may be caused by ear wax in the auditory canal, fluid buildup in the middle ear, ear infections or abnormal bone growth.
• Sensorineural Hearing Loss: occurs when there is damage to the vestibulocochlear (auditory) nerve. This type of hearing loss may be caused by head injury, birth defects, high blood pressure or stroke.
• Presbycusis: occurs because of changes in the inner ear. This is a very common type of hearing loss that happens gradually in older age.
• Tinnitus: people with tinnitus hear a constant ringing or roaring sound. The cause of this ringing cannot always be found. Some cases of tinnitus are caused by ear wax, ear infections or a reaction to antibiotics, but there are many other possible causes of this disorder.

TOUCH

When our skin is indented, pierced, or experiences a change in temperature, our sense of touch is activated by this energy.
Gate control theory - Theory that a ‘neurological gate in the spinal cord controls the transmission of pain messages to the brain   

CHEMICAL SENSES
TASTE (GUSTATION)
Taste buds

Papillae-
Humans sense four different tastes: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter  

All other tastes come from a combination of these four basic tastes. Actually, a fifth basic taste called "Umami" has recently been discovered. Umami is a taste that occurs when foods with glutamate (like MSG) are eaten. Different parts of the tongue can detect all types of tastes. Morever, the simple tongue "taste map" that is found in many textbooks has been criticized for several reasons.

The actual organ of taste is called the "taste bud". Each taste bud (and there about about 10,000 taste buds in humans) is made up of many (between 50-150) receptor cells. Receptor cells live for only 1 to 2 weeks and then are replaced by new receptor cells. Each receptor in a taste bud responds best to one of the basic tastes. A receptor can respond to the other tastes, but it responds strongest to a particular taste.    

SMELL (OLFACTION)  
The Nose Knows    

The smells of a rose, perfume, freshly baked bread and cookies...these smells are all made possible because of your nose and brain. The sense of smell, called olfaction, involves the detection and perception of chemicals floating in the air. Chemical molecules enter the nose and dissolve in mucous within a membrane called the olfactory epithelium. In humans, the olfactory epithelium is located about 7 cm up and into the nose from the nostrils.
Olfactory epithelium - Nasal membranes containing receptor cells sensitive to odors
Pheromone - Chemical that communicates information to other organisms through smell
VESTIBULAR SENSE – tells us about how our body is oriented in space.
Semicircular canals - Structure in the inner ear particularly sensitive to body rotation.
Vestibular sacs - Sacs in the inner ear that are responsible for sensing gravitation and forward, backward, and vertical movement
KINESTHETIC SENSES -Senses of forces and movement of muscles
Stretch receptors -Receptors that sense muscle stretch and contraction
Golgi tendon organs -Receptors that sense movement of the tendons, which connect muscle to bone.

PERCEPTION
THRESHOLDS

Absolute threshold -The least amount of energy that can be detected as a stimulation 50 percent of the time
Subliminal- stimuli below our absolute threshold
Difference threshold -The smallest change in stimulation that can be detected 50 percent of the time
just-noticeable difference – the smallest amount of change needed in a stimulus before we detect a change
Weber’s Law -The principle that the just noticeable difference for any given sense is a constant proportion of the stimulation being judged. 

PERCEPTUAL THEORIES

Psychologists use several theories to describe how we perceive the world.
Signal detection theory- investigates the effects of the distractions and interference we experience while perceiving the world.
Response criteria
False positive

Top-Down Processing – we perceive by filling in gaps in what we sense
    Schemata
    Perceptual set
    Backmasking
Bottom-up Processing, also called feature analysis – we use only the features of the object itself to build a complete perception

GESTALT RULES
    Proximity
    Similarity
    Continuity
    Closure

CONSTANCY- Tendency to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite changes in sensory stimulation
Size constancy - Perception of an object as the same size regardless of the distance from which it is viewed
Shape constancy - Tendency to see an object as the same shape no matter what angle it is viewed from
Brightness constancy - Perception of brightness as the same, even though the amount of light reaching the retina changes

DEPTH CUES
Visual cliff experiment-
Monocular cues - Visual cues requiring the use of one eye
Interposition - Monocular distance cue in which one object, by partly blocking a second object, is perceived as being closer.
Linear perspective - Monocular cue to distance and depth based on the fact that two parallel lines seem to come together at the horizon
Relative size - Monocular cue in which closer objects seem larger than distant objects
Texture gradient -Course objects appear closer than smooth objects
Shadowing-
Binocular cues - Visual cues requiring the use of both eyes
Retinal disparity - Binocular distance cue based on the difference between the images
Convergence - cast on the two retinas when both eyes are focused on the same object
Stereoscopic vision - Combination of two retinal images to give a three-dimensional perceptual experience.

SENSATION AND PERCEPTION QUIZ

1. Our sense of smell may be a powerful trigger for memories because
A. we are conditioned from birth to make strong connections between smells and events.
B. The nerve connecting the olfactory bulb sends impulses directly to the limbic system
C. The receptors at the top of each nostril connect with the cortex
D. Smell is a powerful cue for encoding memories into long-term memory
E. Strong smells encourage us to process events deeply so they will most likely be remembered

2. The cochlea is responsible for
A. protecting the surface of the eye
B. transmitting vibrations received by the eardrum to the hammer, anvil, and stirrup.
C. The receptors at the top of each nostril conect with the cortex
D. Smell is a powerful cue for encoding memories into long-term memory
E. Strong smells encourage us to process events deeply so they will most likely be remembered.

3. In a perception research lab, you are asked to describe the shape of the top of a box as the box is slowly rotated. Which concept are the researchers most likely investigating?
A. feature detectors in the retina
B. feature detectors in the occipital lobe
C. placement of rods and cones in the retina
D. binocular depth cues
E. shape constancy

4. The blind spot in our eye results from
A. the lack of receptors at the spot where the optic nerve connects to the retina
B. the shadow the pupil makes on the retina
C. competing processing between the visual cortices in the left and right hemisphere
D. floating debris in the space between the lens and the retina
E. retinal damage from bright light

5. Smell and taste are called _______ because
A. energy senses; they send impulses to the brain in the form of electric energy
B. chemical senses; they detect chemicals in what we taste and smell
C. flavor senses; smell and taste combine to create flavor.
D. Chemical senses; they send impulses to the brain in the form of chemicals.
E. Memory senses; they both have powerful connections to memory

6. What is the principal difference between amplitude and frequency in the context of sound waves ?
A. Amplitude is the tone or timbre of a sound, while frequency is the pitch.
B. Amplitude is detected in the cochlea, while frequency is detected in the auditory cortex.
C. Amplitude is the height of the sound wave, while frequency is a measure of how frequently the sound waves pass a given point.
D. Both measure qualities of sound, but frequency is a more accurate measure since it measures the shapes of the waves rather than the strength of the waves.
E. Frequency is a measure for light waves, while amplitude is a measure for sound waves.

7. Weber’s law determines
A. absolute threshold.
B. Focal length of the eye.
C. Level of subliminal messages.
D. Amplitude of sound waves.
E. Just-noticeable difference.

8. Gate control theory refers to
A. which sensory impulses are transmitted first from each sense
B. which pain messages are perceived
C. interfering sound waves, causing some waves to be undetected
D. the gate at the optic chiasm controlling the destinaiton hemisphere for visual information from each eye.
E. How our minds choose to use either bottom-up or top-down processing.

9. If you had sight in only one eye, which of the following depth cues could you NOT use?
A. texture gradient
B. convergence
C. linear perspective
D. interposition
E. shading

10. Which of the following sentences best describes the relationship between sensation and perception?
A. Sensation is a strictly mechanical process, while perception is a cognitive process.
B. Perception is an advanced form of sensation.
C. Sensation happens in the senses, while perception happens in the brain.
D. Sensation is detecting stimuli, perception is interpreting stimuli detected.
E. Sensation involves learning and expectations, and perception does not.

11. What function does the retina serve?
A. The retinal contains the visual receptor cells
B. The retinal focuses light coming in the eye through the lens.
C. The retina determines how much light is let into the eye.
D. The retina determines which rods and cones will be activated by incoming light
E. The retina connects the two optic nerves and sends impulses to the left and right visual cortices.

12. Color blindness and color afterimages are best explained by what theory of color vision?
A. trichromatic theory
B. Visible hue theory
C. Opponent-process theory
D. Dichromatic theory
E. Binocular disparity theory

13. You are shown a picture of your grandfather’s face, but the eyes and mouth are blocked out.  You still recognize it as a picture of your grandfather. Which type of processing best explains this example of perception?
A. bottom-up processing
B. signal detection theory
C. top-down processing
D. opponent-process theory

14. What behavior would be difficult without our vestibular sense ?
A. integrating what we see and hear
B. writing our name
C. repeating a list of digits
D. walking a straight line with our eyes closed
E. reporting to a researcher the exact position and orientation of our limbs

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

We spend about 8 hours/day, 56 hours/week, 224 hours/month and 2,688 hours/year doing it...that's right...SLEEPING. One third of our lives we are apparently doing nothing. But is sleep really doing nothing? It looks like it...a person's eyes are closed; muscles are relaxed; breathing is regular; there is no response to sound or light. However, if you take a look at what is happening inside the brain, you will find quite a different situation - the brain is very active.

Scientists can record brain activity by attaching electrodes to the scalp and then connecting these electrodes to a machine called an electroencephalograph. The encephalogram (or EEG) is the record of brain activity recorded with this machine. The wavy lines of the EEG are what most people know as "brain waves".

Consciousness is our level of awareness about ourselves and our environment.

Conscious level    The information about yourself and your environment of which you are currently aware
Nonconscious level    Body processes controlled by your mind that we are not usually aware of
Preconscious level    Information about yourself or your environment that you are not currently thinking about, but you could be.
Subconscious level    Information that we are not consciously aware of but we know must exist due to behavior.
Unconscious level    Psychoanalytic psychologists believe some events and feelings are unacceptable to our conscious mind and are repressed into the unconscious mind.  Many psychologists object to this concept as difficult or impossible to prove.
Mere-exposure effect - prefer stimuli we have seen before over novel stimuli
Priming - respond more quickly and/or accurately to questions they have seen before
Blind sight - person being blind being able to grasp an object they cannot see

SLEEP CYCLE

Great information found at: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/sleep.html
Circadian rhythm--
Sleep stages--
REM=rapid eye movement

SLEEP DISORDERS

• Insomnia- problems of getting to or staying asleep, effects up to 10% of the population
• Narcolepsy- extreme sleepiness - sleep attacks Go to http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/narco.html
• Sleep apnea- stop breathing during sleep
• Night terrors- usually occur in children are dreams outside of REM, during stage 4 sleep
• Somnambulism- sleep walking

DREAM THEORIES

Freudian Theory - believes that dreams reveal information in the unconscious mind
Manifest content- literal content
Latent content - deeper meaning
Activation-synthesis Theory - dreams are nothing more than the brains interpretation of what is happening physiologically during REM sleep
Information-processing Theory - dreams may be a way to integrate the information processed during the day into our memories

HYPNOSIS

Posthypnotic amnesia - forget events that occurred during hypnosis
Posthypnotic suggestibility -
Role Theory - says hypnosis is not an alternate state of consciousness, points out that some people are more easily hypnotized than others.
State Theory - hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness
Dissociation Theory - Hilgard studied, it causes to divide our consciousness voluntarily - the experiment that demonstrated the hidden observer effect

DRUGS For information on specific drugs go to: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/introb.heml#drug
Blood-brain barrier          
Tolerance               
Withdrawal
agonist
antagonist

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS TERMS

Consciousness- the awareness or, or the possibility of knowing, what is happening inside or outside the organism
Subconscious – consciousness just below our present awareness
Unconscious – thoughts or desires about which we can have no direct knowledge
Chronobiology – the study of forces that control the body at different times of the day, month, or year
Construct – a concept requiring a belief in something that cannot be seen or touched but that seems to exist
Biological clocks – internal chemical units that control regular cycles in parts of the body
Free-running cycles – cycles set up by biological clocks that are under their own control, ignoring the environment
Entrainment – the process of altering the free-running cycle to fit a different rhythm
Circadian rhythm – sequences of behavioral changes that occur every 24 hours
Twilight state – relaxed state just before we fall asleep
REM sleep – rapid eye movement sleep when we dream
Beta waves - rapid brain waves; appear when a person is awake
Alpha waves – stage 1, fairly relaxed brain waves occurring just before going to sleep; relaxed
Delta waves – slow, lazy, deep-sleep brain waves.
NREM sleep – non-rapid eye movement sleep/ sleep involving partial thoughts, images,or stories, poor organization
Nightmare – frightening dream during REM
REM rebound – increase in the number of dreams after being deprived of them
Incubus attack – also called a night terror, a horrible dream occurring during NREM when the body is not prepared for it
Insomnia – the inability to get enough sleep
Narcolepsy - disorder in which a person falls instantly into sleep no matter what is going on in the environment
Sleep apnea – breathing stops while someone is asleep
Hypnosis – a state of relaxation in which attention is focused on certain objects, acts, or feelings.
Meditation – a form of self-control in which the outside world is cut off from consciousness
Altered state of consciousness – mental state that differs noticeably from normal waking consciousness
Psychoactive drugs – chemical substances that change moods and perceptions
Dreams – vivid visual and auditory experiences that occur primarily during REM periods of sleep
Substance abuse – a pattern of drug use that diminishes the user’s ability to fulfill responsibilities at home, work or school, that results in repeated use of a drug in dangerous situations, legal problems
Substance dependence – a pattern of compulsive drug taking that often results in
tolerance and or withdrawal
Tolerance – phenomenon whereby higher doses of a drug are required to produce its original effects or to prevent withdrawal symptoms
Withdrawal symptoms – unpleasant physical or psychological effects that follow the discontinuance of a dependence-producing substance.
Drugs – know the effects – opiates, stimulants, amphetamines, cocaine, depressants, hallucinogens, alcohol, LSD, barbiturates, marijuana

CONSCIOUSNESS QUIZ

1. Agonists are psychoactive drugs that
A. produce tolerance to the drug without the associated withdrawal symptoms
B. mimic and produce the same effect as certain neurotransmitters.
C. Mimic neurotransmitters and block their receptor sites.
D. Enhance the effects of certain opiates like heroin.
E. Make recovery from physical addiction more difficult.

2. In comparison with older people, babies
A. sleep more fitfully; they tend to wake up more often.
B. Sleep more deeply; they spend more time in stage 3 and 4 sleep
C. Spend more time in the REM stage than other sleep stages
D. Spend more time in stage 1, which causes them to awaken easily.
E. Sleep more than young adults but less than people over 50.

3. Which of the following is the best analogy for how psychologists view consciousness?
A. The on/off switch on a computer.
B. A circuit breaker that controls power to a house.
C. A fuse that allows electricity to pass through until a short circuit occurs.
D. A dimmer switch for a light fixture
E. The ignition switch on a car

4. During the normal night’s sleep, how many times do we pass through the different stages of sleep?
A. 2               
B. 2-3     
C. 4-7
D. 8-11
E. 11-15

5. Which of the following is evidence supporting the role theory of hypnosis?
A. Some people are more hypnotizable than others
B. People will not behave under hypnosis in ways they would not without hypnosis.
C. Hilgard’s experiment demonstrated the presence of a hidden observer.
D. Our heart and respiration rates may differ while under hypnosis
E. Some therapists successfully use hypnosis in therapy.

6. Activation-synthesis theory tries to explain
A. how consciousness emerges out of neural firings.
B. How psychoactive drugs create euphoric effects.
C. The origin and function of dreams.
D. How our mind awakens us after we pass through all the sleep stages.
E. How our consciousness synthesizes all the sensory information it receives.

7. Hilgard’s experiment that demonstrated the presence of a hidden observer is evidence for which theory?
A. role theory of hypnosis
B. levels theory of consciousness
C. recuperative theory of sleep
D. dissociation theory of hypnosis
E. state theory of hypnosis

8. Which of the following two sleep disorders occur most commonly?
A. insomnia and narcolepsy
B. apnea and narcolepsy
C. night terrors and apnea
D. somnambulism and insomnia
E. apnea and insomnia

9. Marijuana falls under what category of psychoactive drug?
A. Depressant            D.    stimulant
B. mood-elevator            E.    mood depressant
C. hallucinogen

10. Night terrors and somnambulism usually occur during which stage of sleep?
A. stage 1, close to wakefulness
B. REM sleep
C. REM sleep, but only later in the night when nightmares usually occur
D. Stage 4
E. Sleep onset

11. Which neurotransmitter is affected by opiates?
A. serotonin
B. endorphins
C. dopamine
D. GABA
E. Acetylcholine

12. In the context of this unit, the term tolerance refers to
A. treatment of psychoactive drug addicts by peers and other members of society.
B. The amount of sleep a person needs to function normally.
C. The need for an elevated dose of a drug in order to get the same effect.
D. The labeling of individuals automatically produced by the level of our consciousness.
E. The harmful side effects of psychoactive drugs.

13. The information processing theory says that dreams
A. are meaningless by-products of how our brains process information during REM sleep.
B. Are symbolic representations of the information we encode during the day.
C. Are processed by one level of consciousness but other levels remain unaware of the dreams.
D. Occur as the brain deals with daily stress and events during REM sleep.
E. Occur only after stressful events, explaining why some people never dream.

14. Which level of consciousness controls involuntary body processes?
A. preconscious level
B. subconscious level
C. unconscious level
D. autonomic level
E. nonconscious level

15. Professor Bohike shows a group of participants a set of geometric shapes for a short period of time.  Later, Professor Bohike shows the same group a larger set of shapes that includes the first set of geometric shapes randomly distributed among the other new images.  When asked which shapes they prefer, the participants choose shapes from the first group more often than the new images, even  though they cannot remember which images they had seen previously.  This experiment demonstrates which concept?
A. priming            
B. mere-exposure effect        
C. shaping
D. primary-attribution error
E. primacy

16. Mr. Spam is a 39-year-old male who has been brought into your neurology clinic by his wife.  She has become increasingly alarmed by her husband’s behavior over the last four months.  You recommend a CAT scan to look for tumors in the brain.  Which two parts of the brain would you predict are being affected by the tumors?
List of symptoms: vastly increased appetite, body temperature fluctuations, decreased sexual desire, jerky movements, poor balance when walking and standing, inability to throw objects, and exaggerated efforts to coordinate movements in a task
A. motor cortex and emotion cortex
B. motor cortex and hypothalamus
C. hypothalamus and cerebellum
D. cerebellum and medulla
E. thalamus and motor cortex

LEARNING

Learning- a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING – learning based on association of stimuli

Ivan Pavlov
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
Unconditioned response (UR)
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Conditioned response (CR)
Acquisition phase
Delayed conditioning
Simultaneous conditioning
Backward conditioning   
Generalization
Discrimination
Extinction
Spontaneous recovery
First-order conditioning
Second-order conditioning
Equipotentiality
Learned taste aversions
Salient

Contiguity model – the Pavlovian model, the more times two things are paired, the
greater the learning that will take place
Contingency model- Rescorla – rests of cognitive view of classical conditioning:  If A is  
contingent on B and vice versa then one predicts the other, learning more powerful.
OPERANT CONDITIONING – kind of learning based on the association of consequences with one’s behavior.

Edward Thorndike
Law of effect
Instrumental learning
B.F. Skinner  
Skinner box
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Omission training
Punishment
Escape learning
Avoidance learning
Shaping
Chaining
Primary reinforcers
Secondary reinforcers  

Premack principle – the reinforcing properties of something depend on the situation
Instinctive drift

Reinforcement schedules differ in two ways:

• What determines when reinforcement is delivered – the number of responses made (ratio) or the passage of time (interval)
• The pattern of reinforcement – either constant (fixed) or changing (variable)

Observational learning –

• also known as modeling
• was studied by Albert Bandura in formulating his social-learning theory
• A significant body of research indicates that children learn violent behaviors from watching violent television programs and violent adult models

Latent learning

• studied by Edward Tolman
• is hidden learning
• experiment with maze running rats, ones that didn’t initially get a reward didn’t seem to learn, but when they started being rewarded their performance changed drastically

Abstract learning

• involves understanding concepts such as tree or same
• Skinner box pigeons picking out certain shapes

Insight learning

• Wolfgang Kohler did studies with chimpanzees
• Insight learning occurs when one suddenly realizes how to solve a problem
• Chimps using boxes to reach banana

What Is Learning?
*Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience.  Learning resulting from conditioning depends on reinforcement.  Reinforcement increases   the probability that a particular response will occur.

• Classical (or respondent) conditioning and Operant (or instrumental) conditioning are two basic types of learning.
• In classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus begins to elicit a response through association with another stimulus.  In operant conditioning, the frequency and pattern of voluntary responses are altered by their consequences.

How does classical conditioning occur?

• Classical conditioning, studied by Pavlov, occurs when a neutral stimulus (NS) is associated with an unconditioned stimulus (US).
• The US causes a reflex called the unconditioned response (UR).  If the NS is consistently paired with the US, it becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) capable of producing a response by itself.  This response is a conditioned (learned) response (CR).
• When the conditioned stimulus is followed by the unconditioned stimulus, conditioning is reinforced (strengthened).
• From an informational view, conditioning creates expectancies, which alter response patterns.  In classical conditioning the CS creates an expectancy that the US will follow.
• Higher order conditioning occurs when a well-learned conditioned stimulus is used as if it were an unconditioned stimulus, bringing about further learning.
• When the CS is repeatedly presented alone, conditioning is extinguished (weakened or inhibited).  After extinction seems to be complete, a rest period may lead to the temporary reappearance of a conditioned response.  This is called spontaneous recovery.
• Through stimulus generalization, stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus will also produce a response.  Generalization gives way to stimulus discrimination when an organism learns to respond to one stimulus but not to similar stimuli.

Does Conditioning affect emotions?

• Conditioning applies to visceral or emotional responses as well as simple reflexes.  As a result, conditioned emotional responses (CERs) also occur.
• Irrational fears called phobias may be CERs.  Conditioning of emotional responses can occur vicariously (secondhand) as well as directly.

How does operant conditioning occur?

• Operant conditioning occurs when voluntary action is followed by a reinforcer.  Reinforcement in operant conditioning increases the frequency or probability of a response.  This result is based on the law of effect.
• Complex operant responses can be taught by reinforcing successive approximations to a final desired response.  This is called shaping.  It is particularly useful in training animals.
• If an operant response is not reinforced, it may extinguish (disappear).  But after extinction seems complete, it may temporarily reappear (spontaneous recovery).

Are there different kinds of operant reinforcement?

• In positive reinforcement, a reward or pleasant event follows a response.  In negative reinforcement, a response that ends discomfort becomes more likely.
• Primary reinforcers are “natural”, physiologically based rewards.  Intracranial stimulation of ‘pleasure centers’ in the brain can also serve as a primary reinforcer.
• Secondary reinforcers are learned.  They typically gain their reinforcing value by direct association with primary reinforcers or because they can be exchanged for primary   reinforcers.  Tokens and money gain their reinforcing value in this way.
• Feedback, or knowledge of results, aids learning and improves performance.  It is most effective when it is immediate, detailed and frequent.
• Programmed instruction breaks learning into a series of small steps, and provides immediate feedback.  Computer-assisted instruction (CAT) does the same but has the added advantage of providing alternate exercises and information when needed.  Four variations of CAI are drill and practice, instructional games, educational simulations, and interactive videodisk instruction.

How are we influenced by patterns of reward?

• delay of reinforcement greatly reduces its effectiveness, but long chains of responses may be built up so that a single reinforcer maintains many responses.
• Superstitious behaviors often become part of response chains because they appear to be associated with reinforcement….
• Reward or reinforcement may be given continuously (after every response) or on a schedule of partial reinforcement.  Partial reinforcement produces greater resistance to extinction.
• The four most basic schedules of reinforcement are fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval.  Each produces a distinct pattern of responding.
• Stimuli that precede a reinforced response tend to control the response on future occasions (stimulus control).  Two aspects of stimulus control are generalization and discrimination.
• In generalization an operant response tends to occur when stimuli similar to those preceding reinforcement are present.
• In discrimination, responses are given in the presence of discriminative stimuli associated with reinforcement (S+) and withheld in the presence of stimuli associated with nonreinforcement (S-)

What does punishment do to behavior?

• Punishment decreases responding.  Punishment occurs when a response is followed by the onset of an aversive event or by the removal of a positive event (response cost)
• Punishment is most effective when it is immediate, consistent and intense.  Mild punishment tends to only temporarily suppress responses that are also reinforced or were acquired by reinforcement.
• The undesirable side effects of punishment include the conditioning of fear to punishing agents and situations associated with punishment, the learning of escape and avoidance responses, and the encouragement of aggression.

What is cognitive learning?

• Cognitive learning involves higher mental processes. such as understanding, knowing, or anticipating.  Even in relatively simple learning situations, animals and people seem to form cognitive maps (internal representations or relationships).
• In latent learning, learning remains hidden or unseen until a reward or incentive for performance is offered.
• Discovery learning emphasizes insight and understanding, in contrast to rote learning.

Does learning occur by imitation?

• Much human learning is achieved through observation, or modeling. Observational learning is influenced by the personal characteristics of the model and the success or failure of the model’s behavior.  Studies have shown that aggression is readily learned and released by modeling.
• Television characters can act as powerful models for observational learning. Televised violence increases the likelihood of aggression by viewers.

How does conditioning apply to practical problems?

• Operant principles can be readily applied to manage behavior in everyday settings.  When managing one’s own behavior, self-reinforcement, self-recording, feedback, and behavioral contracting are all helpful.
• Four strategies that can help change bad habits are reinforcing alternate responses, promoting extinction, breaking response chains, and avoiding antecedent cues.
• In school, self-regulated learners typically do all of the following: They set learning goals, plan learning strategies, use self-instruction, monitor their progress, evaluate themselves, reinforce successes, and take corrective action when required.

How does biology influence learning?

• Many animals are born with innate behavior patterns far more complex than reflexes.  These are organized into fixed action patterns (FAPs), which are stereotyped, species-specific behaviors.
• Learning in animals is limited at times by various biological constraints and species-typical behaviors.
• According to prepared fear theory, some stimuli are especially effective conditioned stimuli.

Many responses are subject to instinctive drift in operant conditioning.  Human learning is subtly influenced by many such biological potentials and limits

PSYCHOLOGY ON THE NET

• Memory A short tutorial on classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and cognitive learning.   http://www.science.wayne.edu/~wpoff/memory.html.
• Observational Learning- Presents Bandura’s original work on modeling, with graphs.  http://www.valdosta.peachnet.edu/~whuitt/psy702/behsys/social.html
• Oppatoons – Cartoons of rats undergoing conditioning.  http://www.thecroft.com/psy/toons/OppaToons.html

LEARNING QUIZ – Conditioning/Learning

1. Just before something scary happens in a horror film, they often play scary sounding music.  When I hear the music, I tense up in anticipation of the scary event.  In this situation, the music serves as a
A. US.
B. CS
C. UR
D. CR
E. NR

2. Try as you might, you are unable to teach your dog to do a somersault.  He will roll around on the ground, but he refuses to execute the gymnastic move you desire because of
A. equipotentiality       
B. preparedness.          
C. instinctive drift
D. chaining.
E. shaping.

3. Which of the following is an example of a generalized reinforcer?
A. chocolate cake
B. water
C. money
D. applause
E. high grades

4. In teaching your cat to jump through a hoop, which reinforcement schedule would facilitate the most rapid learning?
A. continuous
B. fixed ratio
C. variable ratio
D. fixed interval
E. variable interval

5. The classical conditioning training procedure in which the US is presented first is known as
A. backward conditioning.
B. Forward conditioning.
C. Simultaneous conditioning.
D. Delayed conditioning.
E. Regular conditioning.

6. Tina likes to play with slugs, but she can find them by the shed only after it rains.  On what kind of reinforcement schedule is Tina’s slug hunting?
A. continuous
B. fixed interval
C. fixed ratio
D. variable interval
E. variable ratio

7. Just before the doors of the elevator close, Lola, a coworker you despise, enters the elevator.  You immediately leave, mumbling about having forgotten something.  Exiting the elevator is an example of
A. positive reinforcement
B. a secondary reinforcer.
C. Punishment.
D. Negative reinforcement.
E. Omission training.

8. Which researcher studied latent learning?
A. Kohler
B. Bandura
C. Tolman
D. Watson
E. Skinner

9. Many psychologists believe that children of parents who beat them are likely to beat their own children.  One possible explanation for this phenomenon is
A. modeling.
B. Latent learning.
C. Abstract learning.
D. Instrumental learning.
E. Classical conditioning.

10. When Tito was young, his parents decided to give him a quarter every day he made his bed.  Tito started to make his siblings’ beds also and help with other chores.  Behaviorists would say that Tito was experiencing
A. internal motivation.
B. Spontaneous recovery.
C. Acquisition.
D. Generalization.
E. Discrimination.

11. A rat evidencing abstract learning might learn
A. to clean and feed itself by watching its mother perform these activities.
B. To associate its handler’s presence with feeding time.
C. To press a bar when a light is on but not when its cage is dark.
D. The layout of amaze without hurrying to get to the end.
E. To press a lever when he sees pictures of dogs but not cats.

12. With which statement would B.F. Skinner most likely agree?
A. Pavlov’s dog learned to expect that food would follow the bell.
B. Baby Albert thought the white rat meant the loud noise would sound.
C. All learning is observable.
D. Pigeons peck disks knowing that they will receive food.
E. Cognition plays an important role in learning.

13. Before his parents will read him a bedtime story, Charley has to brush his teeth, put on his pajamas, kiss his grandmother goodnight, and put away his toys. This example illustrates
A. shaping.
B. Acquisition.
C. Generalization.
D. Chaining.
E. A token economy.

14. Which of the following is an example of positive reinforcement?
A. Buying a child a video game after she throws a tantrum.
B. Going inside to escape a thunderstorm.
C. Assigning a student detention for fighting.
D. Getting a cavity filled at the dentist to halt a toothache.
E. Depriving a prison inmate of sleep.

15. Lily keeps poking Jared in Mr. Clayton’s third-grade class.  Mr. Clayton tells Jared to ignore Lily.  Mr. Clayton is hoping that ignoring Lily’s behavior will
A. punish her.
B. Extinguish her behavior.
C. Negatively reinforce the behavior.
D. Cause Lily to generalize.
E. Make the behavior latent

MEMORY

Memory is any indication that learning has persisted over time

Several different models or explanations of how memory works have emerged from memory research.  Two of the most important models: the three-box/information processing model and the levels of processing model.  Neither model is perfect.

Three Box model proposes the three stages that information passes through before it is stored:

Sensory memory

• split-second holding tank
• the information your senses are processing right now is held in sensory memory less than a second
• George Sperling did experiments, showed iconic memory – a split-second perfect photograph of a scene
• Other experiments indicate echoic memory – split-second memory for sounds
• Most of the information in sensory memory is not encoded
• Selective attention determines which sensory messages get encoded

Short-term/Working Memory

• memories we are currently working with
• temporary, they usually fade in 10 to 30 seconds
• capacity is limited on average to around seven items (7+/-)
• Events are encoded as visual codes, acoustic codes, or semantic codes
• Capacity can be expanded through chunking
• Mnemonic devices- memory aids, really examples of chunking
• Rehearsal or simple repetition can hold information in short-term memory

Long-term Memory

• permanent storage
• capacity is unlimited
• memories can decay or fade
• stored in three different formats

Episodic memory – memories of specific events stored in a sequential series of events
Semantic memory – general knowledge of the world stored as facts, meanings, or categories rather than sequentially
Procedural Memory – memories of skills and how to perform them, These are sequential but might be very complicated to describe in words.

Memories can also be implicit or explicit

Explicit – also called declarative – conscious memories of facts or events
Implicit – also called nondeclarative- unintentional memories that we might not even realize we have

LEVELS OF PROCESSING MODEL

This theory explains why we remember what we do by examining how deeply the memory was processed or thought about.  Memories are neither short- nor long-term.  They are deeply (or elaboratively) processed or shallowly (or maintenance) processed.
According to the levels of processing theory, we remember things we spend more cognitive time and energy processing.  This theory explains why we remember stories better than a simple recitation of events and why, in general, we remember questions better than statements.

RETRIEVAL

•  getting information
•  two different kinds: recognition and recall

There are several factors that influence why we can retrieve some memories and why we forget others.

• Primacy effect – more likely to recall items presented at the beginning of a list
• Recency effect - ability to recall the items at the end of a list
• Context -  semantic network theory
• Flashbulb memories
• Mood-congruent memory- ability to recall a memory is increased when current mood matches mood when stored
• State-dependent memory-
• Constructive Memory – false memories, leading questions can easily influence us.

FORGETTING

One cause is decay, because we do not use a memory or connection to a memory for a long time.  Relearning effect indicates that it isn’t entirely gone.
Another factor is interference, two types

• Retroactive interference – learning new information interferes with the recall of older information
• Proactive interference – older information learned previously interferes with the recall of information learned more recently

How memories are physically stored in the brain.

• the hippocampus is important in encoding new memories.  Damage can cause anterograde amnesia (can’t encode any new memories)
• long-term potentiation- studies of neurons indicate that they can strengthen connections between each other through repeated firings, this might be related to the connections we make in our long-term memory

LEARNING AND MEMORY

Learning - the process by which experience or practice results in a relatively permanent change in behavior or potential behavior
Conditioning- the acquisition of specific patterns of behavior in the presence of well-defined stimuli
Classical or Pavlovian conditioning - type of learning in which a response naturally elicited by one stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, neutral stimulus
Operant or instrumental conditioning - type of learning in which behaviors are emitted to earn rewards to avoid punishments
Unconditioned stimulus US - stimulus that invariably causes an organism to respond in a specific way
Unconditioned response (UR) -response that takes place in an organism whenever an unconditioned stimulus occurs
Conditioned stimulus - originally neutral stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus and eventually produces the desired response in an organism when presented alone
Conditioned response - after conditioning, the response an organism produces when only a conditioned stimulus is presented
Desensitization therapy - conditioning technique designed to gradually reduce anxiety about a particular object or situation
Taste aversion - conditioned avoidance of poisonous food
Operant behavior - behavior designed to operate on the environment in a way that will gain something desired or avoid something unpleasant
Reinforcer - a stimulus that follows a behavior and increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated
Punisher - a stimulus that follows a behavior and decreases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated
Law of effect - Thorndike’s theory that behavior consistently rewarded will be ‘stamped in’ as learned behavior
Positive reinforcer - Any event whose presence increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur
Negative reinforcer - Any event whose reduction or termination increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur
Avoidance training - Learning a desirable behavior to prevent an unpleasant condition such as punishment from occurring
Response acquisition - ‘building phase’ of the conditioning during which the likelihood or strength of the desired response increases
Intermittent pairing - pairing the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus on only a portion of the learning trials
Skinner box - box that is often used in operant conditioning of animals.  It limits the available responses and thus increases the likelihood that the desired response will occur
Shaping - reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior
Extinction - decrease in the strength or frequency of a learned response due to failure to continue pairing the US and CS or the withholding of reinforcement
Spontaneous recovery - the reappearance of an extinguished response after the passage of time
Stimulus generalization - transfer of a learned response to different but similar stimuli
Stimulus discrimination - learning to respond to only one stimulus and to inhibit the response to all other stimuli
Response generalization - giving a response that is somewhat different from the response originally learned to that stimulus
Primary reinforcer - reinforcer that is rewarding in itself, such as food, water, and sex
Secondary reinforcer - reinforcer whose value is learned through association with other primary or secondary reinforcers
Contingency - a reliable ‘if-then’ relationship between two events such as a CS and US
Blocking - prior conditioning prevents conditioning to a second stimulus even when the two stimuli are presented simultaneously
Schedule of reinforcement - in partial reinforcement, the rule for determining when and how often reinforcers will be delivered
Fixed-interval schedule - reinforcement schedule that calls for reinforcement of a correct response after a fixed length of time
Variable-interval schedule - reinforcement schedule in which a correct response is reinforced after varying lengths of time after the last reinforcement
Fixed-ratio schedule - reinforcement schedule in which the correct response is reinforced after a fixed number of correct responses
Variable-ratio schedule - reinforcement schedule in which a varying number of correct responses must occur before reinforcement is presented
Cognitive learning - learning that depends on mental processes that are not directly observable
Latent learning -learning that is not immediately reflected in a behavior change
Cognitive map - a learned mental image of a spatial environment that may be called on to solve problems when stimuli in the environment change
Learning set - ability to become increasingly more effective in solving problems as more problems are solved
Social learning theory - view of learning that emphasizes the ability to learn by observing a model or receiving instructions, without firsthand experience by the learner
Observational learning - learning by observing other people’s behavior
Vicarious reinforcement/punishment - performance of behaviors learned through observation that is modified by watching others who are reinforced or punished for their behavior
Token economy – a behavioral technique in which rewards for desired acts are accumulated through tokens, which represent a form of money
Cognitive map – a mental image of where one is located in space
Cognitive approach – a way of learning based on abstract mental processes and previous knowledge
Learning curve – a gradual upward slope representing increased retention of material as the result of learning
State-dependent learning- the fact that material learned in one chemical state is best reproduced when the same state occurs again
Transfer of training- a learning process in which learning is moved from one task to another based on similarities between the tasks
Positive transfer – a transfer of learning that results from similarities between two tasks
Negative transfer – an interference with learning due to differences between two otherwise similar tasks
Information processing – the methods by which we take in, analyze, store, and retrieve material
Schema – an organized and systematic approach to answering questions or solving problems
Elaboration – the process of attaching a maximum number of associations to a basic concept or other material to be learned so that it can be retrieved more easily
Mnemonic devices – unusual associations made to material to aid memory
Principle learning – a method of learning in which an overall view (principle) of the material to be learned is developed so that the material is better organized
Chunking – putting things into clusters or ‘chunks’ so that items learned are in groups, rather than separate
Forgetting – an increase in errors when trying to bring material back from memory
Overlearning – the process of learning something beyond one perfect recitation so that the forgetting curve will have no effect; the development of perfect retention.
Forgetting curve – graphic representation of speed and amount of forgetting that occurs
Recall – the ability to bring back and integrate many specific learned details
Recognition – the ability to pick the correct object or event from a list of choices
Interference theory – the belief that we forget because new and old material conflict with one another
Amnesia – the blocking of older memories and/or the loss of new ones
Short-term memory – the memory system that retains information for a few seconds to a few minutes
Long-term memory – the memory system that retains information for hours, days, weeks, months, decades
Sensory memory system – direct receivers of information from the environment – for example, iconic, acoustic
Iconic memory – a very brief visual memory that can be sent to the STM
Acoustic memory – a very brief sound memory that can be sent to the STM
Eidetic imagery – an iconic memory lasting a minute or so that keeps images ‘in front of the person’ so objects can be counted or analyzed, also called ‘photographic memory’

COGNITION

LANGUAGE: Language is intimately connected to cognition

Elements

• phonemes
• morphemes
• syntax

Language Acquisition

First stage – babbling

• babbling appears to be innate
• babies in this stage are capable of producing any phoneme from any language
• babbling progresses into utterances of words as babies imitate the words they hear caregivers say

Second stage – telegraphic speech

• combine words into simple commands
• begin to learn grammar and syntax rules during this stage

Controversy in language acquisition

• Behaviorists believe it is learned through operant conditioning and shaping
• Noam Chomsky – nativist theory of language acquisition, says humans are born with a language acquisition device which allows them to learn language rapidly.  There may be a critical period for learning language.
• Most psychologists now agree that there is some combination of the two

Language and Cognition

Benjamin Whorf, linguistic relativity hypothesis – the language we use might control, and in some ways limit, our thinking

THINKING AND CREATIVITY

Schemata – cognitive rules we use to interpret the world
Concepts- similar to schemats, rules that allow us to categorize and think about the objects, people, and ideas we encounter
Prototypes – the most typical example of a particular concept
Images – mental pictures

Problem Solving

Algorithms – try every possible solution,, an algorithm is a rule that guarantees the right solution by using a formula or foolproof method, may be impractical
Heuristics –a rule of thumb,it limits the possible combinations drastically
Availability heuristic- judging a situation based on examples of similar situations that come to mind initially.
Representativeness heuristic – judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to prototypes the person holds in his or her mind.
    Use of the heuristics can lead to specific problems in judgments. Overconfidence, belief bias, belief perseverance

Impediments to Problem Solving-

• rigidity (mental set) tendency to fall into established thought patterns
• functional fixedness – the inability to see a new use for an object
• not breaking the problem into parts
• confirmation bias – we tend to look for evidence that confirms our beliefs
• Framing – the way a problem is presented

Creativity

• little correlation between intelligence and creativity
• difficult to define, originality, appropriateness, novel, somehow fits the situation
• convergent thinking- thinking pointed toward one solution
• divergent thinking- thinking that searches for multiple possible answers to a question-divergent thinking is more closely associated with creativity.

COGNITION QUIZ

1. Mr. Krohn, a carpenter is frustrated because he misplaced his hammer and needs to pound in the last nail in the bookcase he is building.  He overlooks the fact that he could use the tennis trophy sitting above the workbench to pound in the nail.  Which concept best explains why Mr. Krohn overlooked the trophy?
A. representativeness heuristic
B. retrieval
C. functional fixedness
D. belief bias
E. divergent thinking

2. Phonemes and morphemes refer to
A. elements of telegraphic speech toddlers use.
B. Elements of language.
C. Building blocks of concepts.
D. Basic elements of memories stored in a long-term memory.
E. Two types of influences language has on thought according to the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

3. Which example would be better explained by the levels of processing model than the information-processing model?
A. Someone says your name across the room and you switch your attention away from the conversation you are having.
B. You forget part of a list you were trying to memorize for a test.
C. While visiting with your grandmother, you recall one of your favorite childhood toys
D. You are able to remember verbatim a riddle you worked on for a few days before you figured out the answer.
E. You pay less attention to the smell of your neighbor’s cologne than to the professor’s lecture in your college class.

4. Contrary to what Whorf’s linguistic relativity hypothesis originally predicted, what effect does recent research indicate language has on the way we think?
A. Since we think in language, the language we understand limits what we have the ability to think about.
B. Language is a tool of thought but does not limit our cognition.
C. The labels we apply affect our thoughts.
D. The relative words in each language affect our ability to think because we are restricted to the words each language uses.
E. The linguistic relativity hypothesis predicts that how quickly we acquire language correlates with our cognitive ability

5. Which of the following is an example of the use of the representativeness heuristic?
A. Judging that a young person is more likely to be the instigator of an argument than an older person, because you believe younger people are more likely to start fights.
B. Breaking a math story problem down into smaller, representative parts, in order to solve it.
C. Judging a situation by a rule that is usuly, but not always true.
D. Solving a problem with a rule that guarantees the right, more representative answer.
E. Making a judgment according to past experiences that are most easily recalled, therefore representative of experience.

6. Which of the following is the most complete list of elements in the three-box/information processing model?
A. Sensory memory, constructive memory, working memory, and long-term memory.
B. Short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory.
C. Shallow processing, deep processing, and retrieval.
D. Sensory memory, encoding, working memory, and retrieval.
E. Sensory memory, working memory, encoding, long-term memory, and retrieval.

7. Which of the following is an effective method for testing whether a memory is actually true or whether it is a constructed memory?
A. Checking to see whether it was deeply processed or shallowly processed.
B. Testing to see if the memory was encoded from sensory memory into working memory.
C. Using a PET scan to see if the memory is stored in the hippocampus.
D. Using other evidence, such as written records, to substantiate the memory.
E. There is no way to tell the difference between a true memory and a constructed one.

8. One of the ways memories are physically stored in the brain is by what process?
A. Deep processing, which increases levels of neurotransmitters in the hippocampus.
B. Encoding, which stimulates electric activity in the hippocampus.
C. Long-term potentiation, which strengthens connections between neurons.
D. Selective attention, which increases myelination of memory neurons.
E. Rehearsal, which causes the brain to devote more neurons to what is being rehearsed.

9. According to the nativist theory, language is acquired
A. by parents reinforcing correct language use.
B. Using an inborn ability to learn language at a certain developmental stage.
C. Best in the language and culture native to the child and parents.
D. Only if formal language instruction is provided in the child’s native language.
E. Best through the phonics instructional method, because children retain how to pronounce all the phonemes required for the language.

10. According to the three-box/information-processing model, stimuli from our outside environment is first stored in
A. working memory.
B. The hippocampus.
C. The thalamus.
D. Sensory memory.
E. Selective attention.

11. Which of the following is the best example of the use of the availability heuristic?
A. Judging a situation by a rule that is usually, but not always, true.
B. Making a judgment according to past experiences that are most easily recalled.
C. Judging that a problem should be solved using a formula that guarantees the right answer.
D. Making a judgment according to what is usually true in your experience.
E. Solving a problem by breaking it into more easily available parts.

12. Which sentence most accurately describes sensory memory?
A. .Sensory memory stores all sensory input perfectly accurately for a short period of time.
B. Sensory memory encodes only sensations we are attending to at the time.
C. Sensory memory receives memories from the working memory and decides which memories to encode in long-term memory.
D. Sensory memory records all incoming sensations and remembers them indefinitely.
E. Sensory memory records some sensations accurately, but some are recorded incorrectly, leading to constructive memory.

13. Recall is a more difficult process than recognition because
A. memories retrieved by recognition are held in working memory, and recalled memories are in long-term memory.
B. Memories retrieved by recognition are more deeply processed.
C. The process of recall involves cues to the memory that causes interference.
D. Memories retrieved by recognition are more recent than memories retrieved by recall.
E. The process of recognition involves matching a person, event, or object with something already in memory

14. Which of the following would be the best piece of evidence for the nativist theory of language acquisition?
A. A child who acquires language at an extremely early age through intense instruction by her or his parents.
B. Statistical evidence that children in one culture learn language faster than children in another culture.
C. A child of normal mental ability not being able to learn language due to language deprivation at a young age.
D. A child skipping the babbling and telegraphic speech stages of language acquisition.
E. A child deprived of language at an early age successfully learning language later.

15. A friend mentions to you that she heard humans never forget anything; we remember everything that ever happens to us.  What concept from memory research most directly contradicts this belief?
A. sensory memory
B. selective attention
C. long-term memory
D. constructive memory
E. recovered memory

MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

Darwin’s theory of natural selection caused many psychologists to try and explain all human behaviors through instincts, most agree that our behavior is motivated by other biological and psychological factors.

Drive reduction theory – behavior is motivated by biological needs.  A need is one of our requirements for survival, a drive is our impulse to act in a way that satisfies this need

• Homeostasis- balanced internal state
• Drives are primary and secondary-

•  Primary- biological needs like thirst and hunger

• Secondary – learned drives like money

• Drive reduction theory cannot explain all our motivations.

Arousal Theory- states that we seek an optimum level of excitement or arousal, most of us perform best with an optimum level of arousal.
Yerkes-Dobson law –high level of arousal may cause us to perform well at easy tasks but poorly on difficult tasks.
Incentive Theory – sometimes behavior is pulled by a desire, incentives are stimuli that we are drawn to due to learning
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Abraham Maslow pointed out that not all needs are created equal
Hunger Motivation – Why do we become hungry 

Biological Basis – There are several biological factors

• Stomach sensation of being full
• Hypothalamus, specifically the lateral and ventomedial parts if destroyed or stimulated determine hunger
• Set-point theory, says hypothalamus wants to maintain a certain optimum body weight

Psychological factors

• external cues, attractiveness or availability of food
• Garcia effect, learned taste aversions
• Culture and background

Eating Disorders – different cultures have drastically different rates of eating disorders, rates are highest in the U.S.  The three most common are:

• Bulimia – Bulimics eat large amounts of food in a short period of time and then get rid of the food by vomiting, excessive exercise, or the use of laxatives. (Binge then Purge)  Bulimics are obsessed with food and their weight, the majority of bulimics are women
• Anorexia Nervosa   - Anorexics starve themselves to below 85 percent of their normal body weight and refuse to eat due to their obsession with weight, the vast majority are women
• Obesity – People with diagnosed obesity are severely overweight, often over 100 pounds, and the excess weight threatens their health.  Obese people typically have unhealthy eating habits rather than the food obsessions of the other two disorders.  Some people may also be genetically predisposed to obesity

Social Motivation –

Achievement Motivation – Humans seem to be motivated to figure out our world and master skills, sometimes regardless of the benefits of the skills or knowledge.  Studies involve looking at differences in how people set and meet personal goals and go about acquiring new knowledge or skills.

Extrinsic/Intrinsic Motivation-

• Extrinsic motivators are rewards that we get for accomplishments from outside ourselves Ex. Grades, salary, etc.
• Intrinsic motivators are rewards we get internally, such as enjoyment or satisfaction

Knowing what type of motivation an individual responds best to can give managers insight into what strategies will be most effective.  Extrinsic motivators are effective for a short period of time but studies show that if we want a behavior to continue, intrinsic motivation is most effective.

Management Theory – studies of management styles show two basic attitudes that affect how managers do their jobs:

• Theory X – managers believe that employees will work only if rewarded with benefits or threatened with punishment
• Theory Y – managers believe that employees are internally motivated to do good work and policies should encourage this internal motive.
• Theory J --

THEORIES ABOUT EMOTION –

• James-Lange – They theorized that we feel emotion because of biological changes, physiological change causes emotion
• Cannon-Bard – They doubted this order, they demonstrated that similar physiological changes correspond with drastically different emotional states.  Biological change and the cognitive awareness of the emotional state occur simultaneously
• Two Factor Theory – Stanley Schacter explains emotional experiences in a more complete way than either previous.  He pointed out that both our physical responses and our cognitive labels combine to cause any particular emotional response.  Emotion depends on the interaction between two factors, biology and cognition.

STRESS – stress and emotion are intimately connected concepts.  The term stress can refer to either certain life events (stressors) or how we react to these changes in the environment (stress reactions)

Measuring stress – Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe designed one of the first instruments to measure stress.  Their social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) measured stress using life-change units (LCUs).  Any major life change increases the score on the SRRS, a person who scored very high on the SRRS is more likely to have stress-related diseases than a person with a low score.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) – Hans Seyle describes the general response in humans and animals to stressful events. There are three stages:

• Alarm reaction – Heart rate increases, blood is diverted away from other body functions to muscles needed to react.  The organism readies itself to meet the challenge through activation of the sympathetic nervous system.
• Resistance – The body remains physiologically ready.  Hormones are released to maintain this state of readiness.  If the resistance stage lasts too long, te body can deplete its resources.
• Exhaustion – The parasympathetic nervous system returns our physiological state to normal.  We can be more vulnerable to disease in this stage especially if our resources were depleted by an extended resistance stage.
• Various studies show that a perceived lack of control over events exacerbates the harmful effects of stress, control over events tends to lessen stress.

MOTIVATION AND EMOTION QUIZ

1. How would drive reduction theory explain a person accepting a new hob with a higher salary but that requires more work and responsibility?
A. Money is a more powerful incentive for this individual than free time.
B. This person seeks a higher activity level and takes the job in order to satisfy this drive.
C. For this person, money is a higher level need than free time.
D. The person takes the job to satisfy the secondary drive of increased salary.
E. Humans instinctively seek greater resources and control over their environment.

2. Which aspects of hunger are controlled by the lateral and ventromedial hypothalamus?
A. contraction and expansion of the stomach, indicating too much or too little food.
B. Body temperature and desire to eat.
C. Desire to eat and physiological processes needed for eating, and digestion (such as salivation).
D. The binge and purge cycle in bulimics.
E. The desire to eat and the feeling of satiety or fullness, that makes us stop eating.

3. All of the following are identified by researchers as important factors in the causes of eating disorders EXCEPT
A. cultural attitude toward weight
B. lack of willpower.
C. Genetic tendencies.
D. Family history of eating disorders.
E. Food obsessions

4. Research is dispelling many popular myths about the so-called causes of homosexuality, all of the following are factors research has eliminated as possible causes EXCEPT
A. traumatic childhood experiences.       
B. Being raised by homosexual parents        
C. Relationship with same-sex parent
D. Parenting styles.
E. Prenatal hormone levels

5. What is the principle difference between how achievement motivation theory and arousal theory explain human motivation?
A. Achievement motivation is a specific example of arousal motivation
B. Arousal theory describes the optimum level of general arousal an individual seeks, while achievement motivation describes what goals the individual is motivated to achieve.
C. Arousal theory describes motivation by referring to stages in our responses to stress (the general adaptation syndrome). Achievement motivation is not used to describe motivation due to stress
D. A person with a low optimum level of arousal according to arousal theory would have a high achievement motivation.
E. Arousal theory is an older, outdated precursor to achievement motivation theory.

6. Which of the following are reasons why intrinsic motivation might be more advantageous than extrinsic motivation?
A. Intrinsic motivation might be more enduring since extrinsic motivations are usually temporary.
B. Intrinsic motivations are easier and more convenient to provide.
C. Intrinsic motivations are higher on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, so we are motivated to meet them before extrinsic needs.
D. Intrinsic motivations are more likely to be primary drives.  Extrinsic motivations are secondary drives.
E. Intrinsic motivations are more effective with a wider range of individuals.

7. Which sentence most closely describes the difference between theory X and theory Y types of management?
A. Theory X managers are more active in work groups.  Theory Y managers are more hands-off, letting groups work out problems on their own.
B. The management theories differ in regard to what tasks they delegate to workers.
C. Theory Y managers regard employees as intrinsically motivated,.
D. Management theory X is dominant in collectivist cultures.  Theory Y is more prevalent in individualist cultures.
E. Theory Y is used with workers who have high optimum levels of arousal.  Theory X is used with those whose arousal levels are low.

8. What does Schacter’s two-factor theory state about the relationship between emotion and physiological reaction?
A. Emotions are caused by physiological reactions.  For example, we feel excited because our heart begins to race.
B. Physiological reactions are caused by emotions.  For example, our experience of fear causes our breathing rate to increase.
C. A combination of physiological reactions and our cognitive interpretation of an event produces emotion.
D. Physiological reactions and emotional response occur simultaneously.
E. Cognitive emotions occur independently of physiological states and are unrelated.

9. Excessive time spent in the resistance phase of Seyle’s general adaptation syndrome can contribute to
A. increased time needed to adapt to new emotional situations.
B. Decreased motivation to perform novel tasks
C. Stress-related diseases like ulcers or heart conditions
D. A reduction in the drive to achieve goals
E. Resistance to learning skills needed for novel tasks.

10. Perceived control over a stressful event results in
A. less reported stress.
B. More frustration regarding the stressful event
C. More motivation to solve the stressful problem
D. Increased arousal
E. Higher heart and respiration rates

11. The balanced physiological state we are driven to attain by satisfying our needs is called
A. equilibrium
B. homeostasis
C. self-actualization
D. primary satisfaction
E. secondary satisfaction

12. The Garcia effect describes
A. the increased motivation felt by individuals with high levels of arousal.
B. The increased susceptibility to illness experienced in the exhaustion phase of the stress response
C. Classical conditioning associating nausea with food or drink
D. The effect of a theory Y management style.
E. The effect the hypothalamus has on perceiving hunger

13. Which of the following factor does research indicate may influence sexual orientation?
A. parenting styles
B. degree of masculinity or femininity expressed in childhood
C. traumatic childhood experiences
D. genetic influences
E. being raised by homosexual parents

14. Seyle’s general adaptation syndrome describes
A. how the central nervous system processes emotions.
B. The effect of low levels of arousal on emotion.
C. Our reactions to stress.
D. Our reactions to the different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
E. The sexual response cycle in humans

15. A high score on Holmes and Rahe’s social readjustment rating scale correlates with
A. high optimum levels of arousal
B. level of need reduction
C. incidence of eating disorders
D. incidence of stress-related illness
E. levels of perceived control.

MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

Darwin’s theory of natural selection caused many psychologists to try and explain all human behaviors through instincts, most agree that our behavior is motivated by other biological and psychological factors.

Drive reduction theory – behavior is motivated by biological needs.  A need is one of our requirements for survival, a drive is our impulse to act in a way that satisfies this need

• Homeostasis- balanced internal state
• Drives are primary and secondary-

•  Primary- biological needs like thirst and hunger

• Secondary – learned drives like money

• Drive reduction theory cannot explain all our motivations.

Arousal Theory- states that we seek an optimum level of excitement or arousal, most of us perform best with an optimum level of arousal.
Yerkes-Dobson law –high level of arousal may cause us to perform well at easy tasks but poorly on difficult tasks.
Incentive Theory – sometimes behavior is pulled by a desire, incentives are stimuli that we are drawn to due to learning
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Abraham Maslow pointed out that not all needs are created equal
Hunger Motivation – Why do we become hungry 

Biological Basis – There are several biological factors

• Stomach sensation of being full
• Hypothalamus, specifically the lateral and ventomedial parts if destroyed or stimulated determine hunger
• Set-point theory, says hypothalamus wants to maintain a certain optimum body weight

Psychological factors

• external cues, attractiveness or availability of food
• Garcia effect, learned taste aversions
• Culture and background

Eating Disorders – different cultures have drastically different rates of eating disorders, rates are highest in the U.S.  The three most common are:

• Bulimia – Bulimics eat large amounts of food in a short period of time and then get rid of the food by vomiting, excessive exercise, or the use of laxatives. (Binge then Purge)  Bulimics are obsessed with food and their weight, the majority of bulimics are women
• Anorexia Nervosa   - Anorexics starve themselves to below 85 percent of their normal body weight and refuse to eat due to their obsession with weight, the vast majority are women
• Obesity – People with diagnosed obesity are severely overweight, often over 100 pounds, and the excess weight threatens their health.  Obese people typically have unhealthy eating habits rather than the food obsessions of the other two disorders.  Some people may also be genetically predisposed to obesity

Social Motivation –

Achievement Motivation – Humans seem to be motivated to figure out our world and master skills, sometimes regardless of the benefits of the skills or knowledge.  Studies involve looking at differences in how people set and meet personal goals and go about acquiring new knowledge or skills.

Extrinsic/Intrinsic Motivation-

• Extrinsic motivators are rewards that we get for accomplishments from outside ourselves Ex. Grades, salary, etc.
• Intrinsic motivators are rewards we get internally, such as enjoyment or satisfaction

Knowing what type of motivation an individual responds best to can give managers insight into what strategies will be most effective.  Extrinsic motivators are effective for a short period of time but studies show that if we want a behavior to continue, intrinsic motivation is most effective.

Management Theory – studies of management styles show two basic attitudes that affect how managers do their jobs:

• Theory X – managers believe that employees will work only if rewarded with benefits or threatened with punishment
• Theory Y – managers believe that employees are internally motivated to do good work and policies should encourage this internal motive.
• Theory J --

THEORIES ABOUT EMOTION –

• James-Lange – They theorized that we feel emotion because of biological changes, physiological change causes emotion
• Cannon-Bard – They doubted this order, they demonstrated that similar physiological changes correspond with drastically different emotional states.  Biological change and the cognitive awareness of the emotional state occur simultaneously
• Two Factor Theory – Stanley Schacter explains emotional experiences in a more complete way than either previous.  He pointed out that both our physical responses and our cognitive labels combine to cause any particular emotional response.  Emotion depends on the interaction between two factors, biology and cognition.

STRESS – stress and emotion are intimately connected concepts.  The term stress can refer to either certain life events (stressors) or how we react to these changes in the environment (stress reactions)

Measuring stress – Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe designed one of the first instruments to measure stress.  Their social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) measured stress using life-change units (LCUs).  Any major life change increases the score on the SRRS, a person who scored very high on the SRRS is more likely to have stress-related diseases than a person with a low score.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) – Hans Seyle describes the general response in humans and animals to stressful events. There are three stages:

• Alarm reaction – Heart rate increases, blood is diverted away from other body functions to muscles needed to react.  The organism readies itself to meet the challenge through activation of the sympathetic nervous system.
• Resistance – The body remains physiologically ready.  Hormones are released to maintain this state of readiness.  If the resistance stage lasts too long, te body can deplete its resources.
• Exhaustion – The parasympathetic nervous system returns our physiological state to normal.  We can be more vulnerable to disease in this stage especially if our resources were depleted by an extended resistance stage.
• Various studies show that a perceived lack of control over events exacerbates the harmful effects of stress, control over events tends to lessen stress.

MOTIVATION AND EMOTION QUIZ

1. How would drive reduction theory explain a person accepting a new hob with a higher salary but that requires more work and responsibility?
A. Money is a more powerful incentive for this individual than free time.
B. This person seeks a higher activity level and takes the job in order to satisfy this drive.
C. For this person, money is a higher level need than free time.
D. The person takes the job to satisfy the secondary drive of increased salary.
E. Humans instinctively seek greater resources and control over their environment.

2. Which aspects of hunger are controlled by the lateral and ventromedial hypothalamus?
A. contraction and expansion of the stomach, indicating too much or too little food.
B. Body temperature and desire to eat.
C. Desire to eat and physiological processes needed for eating, and digestion (such as salivation).
D. The binge and purge cycle in bulimics.
E. The desire to eat and the feeling of satiety or fullness, that makes us stop eating.

3. All of the following are identified by researchers as important factors in the causes of eating disorders EXCEPT
A. cultural attitude toward weight
B. lack of willpower.
C. Genetic tendencies.
D. Family history of eating disorders.
E. Food obsessions

4. Research is dispelling many popular myths about the so-called causes of homosexuality, all of the following are factors research has eliminated as possible causes EXCEPT
A. traumatic childhood experiences.       
B. Being raised by homosexual parents        
C. Relationship with same-sex parent
D. Parenting styles.
E. Prenatal hormone levels

5. What is the principle difference between how achievement motivation theory and arousal theory explain human motivation?
A. Achievement motivation is a specific example of arousal motivation
B. Arousal theory describes the optimum level of general arousal an individual seeks, while achievement motivation describes what goals the individual is motivated to achieve.
C. Arousal theory describes motivation by referring to stages in our responses to stress (the general adaptation syndrome). Achievement motivation is not used to describe motivation due to stress
D. A person with a low optimum level of arousal according to arousal theory would have a high achievement motivation.
E. Arousal theory is an older, outdated precursor to achievement motivation theory.

6. Which of the following are reasons why intrinsic motivation might be more advantageous than extrinsic motivation?
A. Intrinsic motivation might be more enduring since extrinsic motivations are usually temporary.
B. Intrinsic motivations are easier and more convenient to provide.
C. Intrinsic motivations are higher on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, so we are motivated to meet them before extrinsic needs.
D. Intrinsic motivations are more likely to be primary drives.  Extrinsic motivations are secondary drives.
E. Intrinsic motivations are more effective with a wider range of individuals.

7. Which sentence most closely describes the difference between theory X and theory Y types of management?
A. Theory X managers are more active in work groups.  Theory Y managers are more hands-off, letting groups work out problems on their own.
B. The management theories differ in regard to what tasks they delegate to workers.
C. Theory Y managers regard employees as intrinsically motivated,.
D. Management theory X is dominant in collectivist cultures.  Theory Y is more prevalent in individualist cultures.
E. Theory Y is used with workers who have high optimum levels of arousal.  Theory X is used with those whose arousal levels are low.

8. What does Schacter’s two-factor theory state about the relationship between emotion and physiological reaction?
A. Emotions are caused by physiological reactions.  For example, we feel excited because our heart begins to race.
B. Physiological reactions are caused by emotions.  For example, our experience of fear causes our breathing rate to increase.
C. A combination of physiological reactions and our cognitive interpretation of an event produces emotion.
D. Physiological reactions and emotional response occur simultaneously.
E. Cognitive emotions occur independently of physiological states and are unrelated.

9. Excessive time spent in the resistance phase of Seyle’s general adaptation syndrome can contribute to
A. increased time needed to adapt to new emotional situations.
B. Decreased motivation to perform novel tasks
C. Stress-related diseases like ulcers or heart conditions
D. A reduction in the drive to achieve goals
E. Resistance to learning skills needed for novel tasks.

10. Perceived control over a stressful event results in
A. less reported stress.
B. More frustration regarding the stressful event
C. More motivation to solve the stressful problem
D. Increased arousal
E. Higher heart and respiration rates

11. The balanced physiological state we are driven to attain by satisfying our needs is called
A. equilibrium
B. homeostasis
C. self-actualization
D. primary satisfaction
E. secondary satisfaction

12. The Garcia effect describes
A. the increased motivation felt by individuals with high levels of arousal.
B. The increased susceptibility to illness experienced in the exhaustion phase of the stress response
C. Classical conditioning associating nausea with food or drink
D. The effect of a theory Y management style.
E. The effect the hypothalamus has on perceiving hunger

13. Which of the following factor does research indicate may influence sexual orientation?
A. parenting styles
B. degree of masculinity or femininity expressed in childhood
C. traumatic childhood experiences
D. genetic influences
E. being raised by homosexual parents

14. Seyle’s general adaptation syndrome describes
A. how the central nervous system processes emotions.
B. The effect of low levels of arousal on emotion.
C. Our reactions to stress.
D. Our reactions to the different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
E. The sexual response cycle in humans

15. A high score on Holmes and Rahe’s social readjustment rating scale correlates with
A. high optimum levels of arousal
B. level of need reduction
C. incidence of eating disorders
D. incidence of stress-related illness
E. levels of perceived control.

PERSONALITY

Personality is the unique attitudes, behaviors, and emotions that characterize a person.

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES

Sigmund Freud- personality was essentially set in early childhood, psychosexual stages

Three parts to personality- id, ego, superego
Id contains instincts and energy.  Two types of instincts:

• Eros- life instinct; often evidenced as a desire for sex
• Thanatos – the death instinct;; seen in aggression

Defense Mechanisms-

Carl Jung- proposed unconscious consists of two different parts

• Personal unconscious- similar to Freud’s idea, contains painful memories and thoughts the person does not wish to confront, complexes
• Collective unconscious- passed down through the species, explains certain similarities we see between all cultures, contains archetypes (universal concepts we all share

• Shadow- the evil side of personality
• Persona- people’s creation of a public image

Alfred Adler – ego psychologist, downplayed the importance of the unconscious, Thought people are motivated by the fear of failure, inferiority; and the desire to achieve, superiority.  Also known for his work on the importance of birth order.

TRAIT THEORIES

Trait theorists believe we can describe people’s personalities by specifying their main characteristics or traits.

• Nomothetic approach. Theorists that believe that the same basic set of traits can be used to describe all people’s personalities
• Hans Eyesenck- believed could classify all people along introversion-extraversion scale and a stable-unstable scale
• Raymond Cattell- 16PF (personality factor) 16 basic traits in all people in varying degrees

• A number of contemporary trait theorists believe that personality can be described using the big five personality traits- extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience emotional stability
• The number of traits is derived from factor analysis- a statistical technique that allows researchers to use correlations between traits.
• Idiographic theorists- argue that each person should be seen in terms of the few traits that best characterize their uniqueness

Gordon Allport- created a measure to identify each person’s ‘central traits’

ABNORMAL

Defining abnormal behavior is difficult. It generally has the following characteristics.

• it is maladaptive and/or disturbing to the individual
• it is disturbing to others
• it is atypical, not shared by many members of the population
• it is irrational

 

Perspective Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic   Humanistic     Behavioral   Cognitive     Sociocultural   Biomedical

Cause of disorder Internal, unconscious conflicts   Failure to strive toward one’s potential or being out of touch with one’s feelings   Reinforcement history, the environment   Irrational, dysfunctional thoughts or ways of thinking Dysfunctional society   Organic problems, biochemical imbalances genetic predispositions

CATEGORIES OF DISORDERS
Anxiety Disorders – share the common symptom of anxiety

• phobia
• generalized anxiety disorder, often referred to as GAD (previously called anxiety state)
• obsessive-compulsive disorder
• posttraumatic stress disorder- involves flashbacks or nightmares following a person’s involvement in or observation of an extremely troubling even

Somatoform Disorders - when a person manifests a psychological problem through a physiological symptom

• hypochondriasis
• conversion disorder

Dissociative Disorders

•  psychogenic amnesia
•  fugue
•  multiple personality disorder

Mood or Affective Disorders - involves extreme or inappropriate emotions

•  Major depression also known as unipolar depression- the most common mood disorder. Key factor is the length of the depressive episode.  Other symptoms- loss of appetite, fatigue, change in sleeping patterns, lack of interest in normally enjoyable activities, feelings of worthlessness
•  Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – experience depression only in certain parts of the year, winter, treated with light therapy
•  Bipolar disorder, also know as manic depression- involves both depressed and manic episodes

Theories on causes

•  Aaron Beck, cognitive theorist says comes from unreasonably negative ideas that people have about themselves, their world, and their futures- cognitive triad.  Also attributional theory applies
•  Has been found to correlate with feelings of learned helplessness
•  Evidence suggests a biological component- low levels of serotonin

Schizophrenic Disorders – fundamental symptom is disordered, distorted thinking often demonstrated through delusions and/or hallucinations.  There are four kinds

•  Disorganized schizophrenia- evidence odd uses of language, make up their own words (neologisms), make clang associations, inappropriate affect or flat affect
•  Paranoid schizophrenia- delusions of persecution
•  Catatonic schizophrenia- engage in odd movements, stupor, move jerkily and quickly for no apparent reason, waxy flexibility.  Increasingly rare
•  Undifferentiated schizophrenia- exhibit disordered thinking but no symptoms of one of the other types of schizophrenia
• Causes- most popular ideas is biological, dopamine hypothesis, people with schizophrenia have high dopamine levels.  Also, enlarged ventricles and brain asymmetries, also seems to be genetic predisposition

Who has schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental illnesses. About 1 of every 100 people (1% of the population) is affected by schizophrenia. This disorder is found throughout the world and in all races and cultures. Schizophrenia affects men and women in equal numbers, although on average, men appear to develop schizophrenia earlier than women. Generally, men show the first signs of schizophrenia in their mid 20s and women show the first signs in their late 20s. Schizophrenia has a tremendous cost to society, estimated at $32.5 billion per year in the US (statistic from Brain Facts, Society for Neuroscience, 1997).  For more information on schizophrenia go to http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/schis.html

Personality Disorders (check out www.rider.edu/users/suler/perdis.html)

• Antisocial personality disorder
• Dependent personality disorder
• Narcissistic
• Histrionic
• Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

How is normality defined, and what are the major psychological disorders?

• Psychopathology refers to maladaptive behavior and to the scientific study of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.
• Definitions of normality usually take into account the following; subjective discomfort, statistical abnormality, social nonconformity, and the cultural or situational context of behavior.
• Two key elements in judgments of disorder are that a person’s behavior must be maladaptive and it must involve a loss of control.
• Major mental disorders include psychotic disorders, dementia, substance related disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, dissociative disorders, personality disorders, and sexual or gender identity disorders.
• Traditionally, the term neurosis has been used to describe milder, anxiety-related disorders.  However, the term is fading from use.
• Insanity is a legal term defining whether a person may be held responsible for his or her actions.  Sanity is determined in court on the basis of testimony by expert witnesses.

What is a personality disorder?

• Personality disorders are deeply ingrained maladaptive personality patterns.
• Sociopathy is a common personality disorder.  Antisocial people seem to lack a conscience.  They are emotionally unresponsive, manipulative, shallow, and dishonest.

What problems result when a person suffers high levels of anxiety?

• Anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, and somatoform disorders are characterized by high levels of anxiety, rigid defense mechanisms, and self-defeating behavior patterns.
• The term nervous breakdown has no formal meaning.  However, ‘emotional breakdowns’ do correspond somewhat to adjustment disorders.
• Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, agoraphobia (without panic), specific phobias, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and acute stress disorder.
• Dissociative disorders may take the form of dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, or dissociative identity disorder.
• Somatoform disorders center on physical complaints that mimic disease or disability.  Four examples of somatoform disorders are hypochondriasis, somatization disorder, somatoform pain disorder, and conversion disorders.

How do psychologists explain anxiety-based disorders?

• The psychodynamic approach emphasizes unconscious conflicts as the cause of disabling anxiety.
• The humanistic approach emphasizes the effects of a faulty self-image.
• The behaviorists emphasize the effects of previous learning, particularly avoidance learning.
• Cognitive theories of anxiety focus on distorted thinking, judgment, and attention.

What are the general characteristics of psychosis?

• Psychosis is a break in contact with reality that is marked by delusions, hallucinations, sensory changes, disturbed emotions, disturbed communication, and, in some cases, personality disintegration.
• An organic psychosis is based on known injuries or diseases of the brain.  Other problems of unknown origin are termed functional psychoses.
• Some common causes of organic psychosis are untreated syphilis, poisoning, drug abuse, and dementia (especially Alzheimer’s disease).

How do delusional disorders differ from other forms of psychosis?

• A diagnosis of delusional disorder is almost totally based on the presence of delusions of grandeur, persecution, infidelity, romantic attraction, or physical disease.
• The most common delusional disorder is paranoid psychosis.  Paranoids may be violent if they believe they are threatened.

What forms does schizophrenia take?  What causes it?

• Schizophrenia involves a split between thought and emotion, delusions, hallucinations, and communication difficulties.
• Disorganized schizophrenia is marked by extreme personality disintegration and silly, bizarre, or obscene behavior.  Social impairment is usually extreme.
• Catatonic schizophrenia is associated with stupor, mutism and odd postures.  Sometimes violent and agitated behavior also occurs.
• In paranoid schizophrenia (the most common type), outlandish delusions of grandeur and persecution are coupled with psychotic symptoms and personality breakdown.
• Undifferentiated schizophrenia is the term used to indicate a lack of clear-cut patterns of disturbance.
• Current explanations of schizophrenia emphasize a combination or early trauma, environmental stress, inherited susceptibility, and abnormalities in the brain.
• Environmental factors that increase the risk of schizophrenia include viral infection or malnutrition during the mother’s pregnancy, birth complications, early psychological trauma and a disturbed family environment.
• Heredity is a major factor in schizophrenia.
• Recent biochemical studies have focused on the brain transmitter dopamine and its receptor sites.
• The dominant explanation of schizophrenia, and other problems as well, is the stress vulnerability model.

What are mood disorders?  What causes depression?

• Mood disorders primarily involve disturbances of mood or emotion, producing manic or depressive states.
• Long-lasting, though relatively moderate, depression is called a dysthymic disorder.  Chronic though moderate swings in mod between depression and elation are called a cyclothymic disorder.  Reactive depressions are triggered by external events.  
• Bipolar disorders combine mania and depression.  In a bipolar I disorder the person alternates between mania and depression.  In a bipolar II disorder, the person is mostly depressed, but also has periods of mild mania.
• The problem known as major depressive disorder involves extreme sadness and despondency but no evidence of mania.
• A major mood disorder accompanied by psychotic symptoms is called an affective psychosis.
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which occurs during the winter months, is another common form of depression.  SAD is typically treated with phototherapy.
• Biological, psychoanalytic, cognitive, and behavioral theories of depression have been proposed.  Heredity is clearly a factor in susceptibility to mood disorders.  Research on the causes and treatment of depression continues.

Why do people commit suicide?  Can suicide be prevented?

• Suicide is statistically related to such factors as age, sex, and marital status.
• In individual cases, the potential for suicide is best identified by a desire to escape, unbearable psychological pain, frustrated psychological needs, and a constriction of options.
• Suicide can often be prevented by the efforts of family, friends, and mental health professionals.

What does it mean to be ‘crazy’?  What should be done about it?

• In Western law, the insanity defense evolved from the McNaghten rule.
• Insanity is closely related to claims of diminished capacity or claims that a person had an irresistible impulse.
• Inconsistencies in the application of the insanity defense have fueled debate about its validity.
• Thomas Szasz has raised questions about the nature of abnormal behavior and its relationship to personal responsibility and civil rights.
• Public policies concerning treatment of the chronically mentally ill continue to evolve as authorities try to strike a balance between providing help and taking away personal freedoms.

PSYCHOLOGY ON THE NET

• Anxiety Disorders- Information and links to sites about anxiety disorders.  http://www.adaa.org/consumerresources/links/
• DSM-IV Questions and Answers to common questions about the DSM-IV.  http://www.psych.org/clin_res/q_a.html
• Personality Disorders – Multiple links to information on personality disorders and their treatment.  http://www.health-center.com/brain/personality/default.htm
• Understanding Schizophrenia – An extensive look at schizophrenia.  http://www.mhsource.com/schizophrenia/index.html

For more information on abnormal and other psychology topics check out www.rider.edu/users/suler/psylinks.html

 

TREATMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Mental illnesses are brought on by a variety of causes therefore therapists must use a variety of methods to treat them.
Research shows that about two-thirds of adults who undergo psychotherapy show marked improvement or recover however, about the same number improve without treatment also.

PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES

• also known as insight therapies, based on Freud’s ideas
• goal is to uncover the material in the unconscious mind
• psychoanalysis
• hypnosis
• free association
• dream analysis
• symptom substitution
• transference

HUMANISTIC THERAPY

• emphasize peoples’ positive capacities, ability to self-actualize
• Carl Rogers, client-centered therapy, Unconditional positive regard
• Gestalt therapy
• Existential therapies

COGNITIVE THERAPY

• attempts to directly manipulate the client’s thinking and reasoning processes
• Rational-emotive therapy
• Attributional style
• Beck cognitive triad

GROUP THERAPY

• family therapy
• encounter groups
• self-help groups

SOMATIC THERAPY

• The most common somatic therapy is drug therapy or psychopharmacology
• electroconvulsive therapy, shock treatment
• psychosurgery

How do psychotherapies differ?  How did psychotherapy originate?

• Psychotherapies may be classified as insight, action, directive, nondirective, or supportive therapies, and combinations of these.
• Therapies may be conducted either individually or in groups, and they may be time limited.
• Primitive approaches to mental illness were often based on belief in supernatural forces.
• Trepanning involved boring a how in the skull.
• Demonology attributed mental disturbance to demonic possession and prescribed exorcism as the cure.
• In some instances, the actual cause of bizarre behavior may have been ergot poisoning.
• More humane treatment began in 1793 with the work of Philippe Pinel in Paris.

Is Freudian psychoanalysis still used?

• Freud’s psychoanalysis was the first formal psychotherapy.  Psychoanalysis seeks to release repressed thoughts and emotions from the unconscious.
• The psychoanalyst uses free association, dream analysis, and analysis of resistance and transference to reveal health-producing insights.
• Some critics argue that traditional psychoanalysis receives credit for spontaneous remissions of symptoms.  However, psychoanalysis has been shown to be successful for many patients.
• Brief psychodynamic therapy (which relies on psychoanalytic theory but is brief and focused) is as effective as other major therapies.

What are the major humanistic therapies?

• Client-centered (or person-centered) therapy is nondirective and is dedicated to creating an atmosphere of growth.
• Unconditional positive regard, empathy, authenticity, and reflection are combined to give the client  a chance to solve his or her own problems.
• Existential therapies, such as Frankl’s logotherapy, focus on the end result of the choices one makes in life.  Clients are encouraged through confrontation and encounter to exercise free will and to take responsibility for their choices.
• Gestalt therapy emphasizes immediate awareness of thought and feelings.  Its goal is to rebuild thinking, feeling, and acting into connected wholes and to help clients break through emotional blockages.
• Media psychologists, telephone counselors, and cybertherapists may, on occasion, do some good.  However each has serious drawbacks, and the effectiveness of telephone counseling and cybertherapy has not been established.
• Therapy by videoconferencing shows more promise as a way to provide mental health services at a distance.

What is behavior therapy?

• Behavior therapists use various behavior modification techniques that apply learning principles to change human behavior.
• In aversion therapy, classical conditioning is used to associate maladaptive behavior (such as smoking or drinking) with pain or other aversive events in order to inhibit undesirable responses.

How is behavior therapy used to treat phobias, fears, and anxieties?

• Classical conditioning also underlies systematic desensitization, a technique used to overcome fears and anxieties.  In desensitization, gradual adaptation and reciprocal inhibition break the link between fear and particular situations.
• Typical steps in desensitization are: Construct a fear hierarchy, learn to produce total relaxation, and perform items on the hierarchy (from least to most disturbing).
• Desensitization may be carried out with real settings, or it may be done by vividly imagining the fear hierarchy.
• Desensitization is also effective when it is administered vicariously – that is, when clients watch models perform the feared responses.
• In some cases, virtual reality exposure can be used to present fear stimuli in a controlled manner.
• A new technique called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) shows promise as a treatment for traumatic memories and stress disorders.  At present, however, EMDR is highly controversial.

What role does reinforcement play in behavior therapy?

• Behavior modification also makes use of operant principles, such as positive reinforcement, nonreinforcement, extinction, punishment, shaping, stimulus control, and time out.  These principles are used to extinguish undesirable responses and to promote constructive behavior.
• Nonreward can extinguish troublesome behaviors.  Often this is done by simply identifying and eliminating rein forcers, particularly attention and approval.
• To apply positive reinforcement and operant shaping, symbolic rewards known as tokens are often used.  Tokens allow immediate reinforcement of selected target behaviors.
• Full-scale use of tokens in an institutional setting produces a token economy.  Toward the end of a token economy program, patients are shifted to social rewards such as recognition and approval.

Can therapy change thoughts and emotions?

• Cognitive therapy emphasizes changing thought patterns that underlie emotional or behavioral problems.  Its goals are to correct distorted thinking and/or teach improved coping skills.
• In a variation of cognitive therapy called rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT), clients learn to recognize and challenge their own irrational beliefs.

Can psychotherapy be done with groups of people?

• Group therapy may be a simple extension of individual methods, or it may be based on techniques developed specifically for groups
• In psychodrama, individuals enact roles and incidents resembling their real-life problems. In family therapy, the family group is treated as a unit.
• Although they are not literally psychotherapies, sensitivity and encounter groups attempt to encourage positive personality change.  In recent years, commercially offered large-group awareness trainings have become popular.  However, the therapeutic benefits of such programs are questionable.

What do various therapies have in common?

• To alleviate personal problems, all psychotherapies offer a caring relationship, emotional rapport, a protected setting, catharsis, explanations for the client’s problems, a new perspective, and a chance to practice new behaviors.
• Many basic counseling skills underlie a variety of therapies.  These include listening actively, helping to clarify the problem, focusing on feelings, avoiding the giving of unwanted advice, accepting the person’s perspective, reflecting thoughts and feelings, being patient during silences, using open questions when possible, and maintaining confidentiality.

How do psychiatrists treat psychological disorders?

• Three medical, or somatic, approaches to treatment are pharmacotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and psychosurgery.  All three techniques are controversial to a degree because of questions about effectiveness, and side effects.
• Community mental health centers seek to avoid or minimize mental hospitalization.  They also seek to prevent mental health problems through education, consultation, and crisis intervention.

How are behavioral principles applied to everyday problems?

• Cognitive techniques can be an aid to managing personal behavior.
• In covert sensitization, aversive images are used to discourage unwanted behavior.
• Thought stopping uses mild punishment to prevent upsetting thoughts.
• Covert reinforcement is a way to encourage desired responses by mental rehearsal.
• Desensitization pairs relaxation with a hierarchy of upsetting images in order to lessen fears.

How could a person find professional help?

• In most communities, a competent and reputable therapist can be located with public sources of information or through a referral.
• Practical considerations such as cost and qualifications enter into choosing a therapist.  However, the therapist’s personal characteristics are of equal importance.

Do cultural differences affect counseling and psychotherapy?

• Many cultural barriers to effective counseling and therapy have been identified.
• Aware therapists are beginning to seek out the knowledge and skills needed to intervene successfully in the lives of clients from diverse cultural backgrounds.
• The culturally skilled counselor must be able to establish rapport with a person from a different cultural background and adapt traditional theories and techniques to meet the needs of clients from non-European ethnic or racial groups.

PSYCHOLOGY ON THE NET

• Basics of Cognitive Therapy – An overview of cognitive therapy with suggesting readings.  http://mindstreet.com/cbt.html

Types of Therapies – Describes four different approaches to therapy.  Also has information about choosing a therapist.  http://www.grohol.com/therapy.htm

 

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

The scientific study of the ways in which the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of one individual are influenced by the real, imagined, or inferred behavior or characteristics of other people.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

How does group membership affect individual behavior?

•    Humans are social animals enmeshed in a complex network of social relationships. Social psychology studies how individuals behave, think, and feel in social situations.
•    Culture provides a broad social context for our behavior.  One’s position in groups defines a variety of roles to be played.
•    Social roles, which may be achieved or ascribed, are particular behavior patterns associated with social positions.  When two or more contradictory roles are held, role conflict may occur.  The Stanford prison experiment showed that destructive roles may override individual motives for behavior.
•    Positions within groups typically carry higher or lower levels of status.  High status is associated with special privileges and respect.
•    Group structure refers to the organization of roles, communication pathways, and power within a group.   Group cohesiveness is basically the degree of attraction among group members.
•    Norms are standards of conduct enforced (formally or informally) by groups.  The autokinetic effect has been used to demonstrate that norms rapidly form even in temporary groups.

What unspoken rules govern the use of personal space?

•    The study of personal space is called proxemics.  Four basic spatial zones around each person’s body are intimate distance (0 to 18 inches), personal distance (1 ½  to 4 feet), social distance (4 to 12 feet), and public distance (12 feet or more).

How do we perceive the motives of others and the causes of our own behavior?

•    Attribution theory is concerned with how we make inferences about behavior.  A variety of factors affect attribution, including consistency, distinctiveness, situational demands, and consensus.
•    The fundamental attributional error is to ascribe the actions of others to internal causes.  Because of actor-observer differences, we tend to attribute our own behavior to external causes.
•    Self-handicapping, involves arranging excuses for poor performance as a way to protect one’s self-image or self-esteem.

Why do people affiliate?

•    The need to affiliate is tied to additional needs for approval, support, friendship, and information.  Additionally, research indicates that affiliation is related to reducing anxiety and uncertainty.
•    Social comparison theory holds that we affiliate to evaluate our actions, feelings, and abilities.  Social comparisons are also made for purposes of self-protection and self-enhancement.

What factors influence interpersonal attraction?

•    Interpersonal attraction is increased by physical proximity (nearness), frequent contact, physical attractiveness, competence, and similarity.  A large degree of similarity on many dimensions is characteristic of mate selection
•    Self-disclosure occurs more when two people like one another.  Self-disclosure follows a reciprocity norm: Low levels of self-disclosure are met with low levels in return, whereas moderate self-disclosure elicits more personal replies.  However, overdisclosure tends to inhibit self-disclosure by others.
•    According to social exchange theory, we tend to maintain relationships that are profitable – that is, those for which perceived rewards exceed perceived costs.
•    Romantic love has been studied as a special kind of attitude.  Love can be distinguished from liking by the use of attitude scales.  Dating couples like and love their partners but only like their friends.  Love is also associated with greater mutual absorption between people.
•    Adult love relationships tend to mirror patterns of emotional attachment observed in infancy and early childhood.  Secure, avoidant, and ambivalent patterns can be defined on the basis of how a person approaches romantic and affectionate relationships with others.
•    Evolutionary psychology attributes human mating patterns to the differing reproductive challenges faced by men and women since the dawn of time.

What have social psychologists learned about conformity, social power, obedience, and compliance?

•    In general, social influence refers to alterations in behavior brought about by the behavior of others.  Conformity to group pressure is a familiar example of social influence
•     Virtually everyone conforms to a variety of broad social and cultural norms.  Conformity pressures also exist within smaller groups.  The famous Asch experiments demonstrated that various group sanctions encourage conformity.
•    Groupthink refers to compulsive conformity in group decision making.  Victims of groupthink seek to maintain each other’s approval, even at the cost of critical thinking.
•    Social influence is also related to five types of social power: reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power, and expert power.
•    Obedience to authority has been investigated in a variety of experiments, particularly those by Milgram.  Obedience in Milgram’s studies decreased when the victim was in the same room, when the victim and subject were face to face, when the authority figure was absent, and when others refused to obey.
•    Compliance with direct requests is another means by which behavior is influenced.  Three strategies for inducing compliance are the foot-in-the-door technique, the door-it-the-face approach, and the low-ball technique.
•    Recent research suggests that, in addition to excessive obedience to authority, many people show a surprising passive compliance to unreasonable requests.

How does self-assertion differ from aggression?

•    Self-assertion, as opposed to aggression, involves clearly stating one’s wants and needs to others.  Learning to be assertive is accomplished by role-playing, rehearsing assertive actions, over-learning, and using specific techniques, such is the ‘broken record’.

What is a social trap?

•    A social trap is a social situation in which immediately rewarded actions have undesired effects in the long run.
•    One prominent social trap occurs when limited public resources are overused, a problem called the tragedy of the commons.

PSYCHOLOGY ON THE NET

* Social Psychology Network – A comprehensive site with many links to information about social psychology. http://www.wesleyan.edu/spn/
* Social Psychology Humor – Links to cartoons that relate to principles of social psychology.  http://miavxl.muohio.edu/~shermarc/p324cart.html

TERMS

Primacy effect - early information about someone weights more heavily that later information in influencing one’s impression of that person
Self-fulfilling prophecy - process in which a person’s expectation about another elicits behavior from the second person that confirms the expectation
Stereotype - set of characteristics presumed to be shared by all members of a social category
Attribution theory - theory that addresses the question of how people make judgments about the causes of behavior
Fundamental attribution error - tendency of people to overemphasize personal causes for other people’s behavior and to under emphasize personal causes for their own behavior
Defensive attribution - tendency to attribute our successes to our own efforts or qualities and our failures to external factors
Just-world hypothesis - attribution error based on the assumption that bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people
Proximity - how close two people live to each other
Exchange - concept that relationships are based on trading rewards among partners
Equity - fairness of exchange achieved when each partner in the relationship receives the same proportion of outcomes to investments
Intimacy - the quality of genuine closeness and trust achieved in communication with another person
Attitude - relatively stable organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavior tendencies directed toward something or someone-the attitude object
Self-monitoring - tendency for an individual to observe the situation for cues about how to react
Prejudice - an unfair, intolerant, or unfavorable attitude toward a group of people
Discrimination - an unfair act or series of acts taken toward an entire group of people or individual members of that group
Frustration-aggression theory - theory that under certain circumstances people who are frustrated in their goals turn their anger away from the proper, powerful target toward another, less powerful target it is safer to attack
Authoritarian personality - a personality pattern characterized by rigid conventionality, exaggerated respect for authority, and hostility toward those who defy society’s norms
Cognitive dissonance - perceived inconsistency between two cognitions
Social influence - process by which others individually or collectively affect one’s perceptions, attitudes, and actions.
Culture - All the goods, both tangible and intangible, produced in a society
Cultural truism - Belief that most members of a society accept as self-evidently true
Norm - A shared idea ore expectation about how to behave
Cultural norm - A behavioral rule shared by an entire society
Conformity - Voluntarily yielding to social norms, even at the expense of one’s own preferences
Compliance - Change of behavior in response to an explicit request from another person or group
Obedience - Change of behavior in response to a command from another person, typically an authority figure
Deindividuation - Loss of personal sense of responsibility in a group
Altruistic behavior - Helping behavior that is not linked to personal gain
Bystander effect - Tendency for an individual’s helpfulness in an emergency to decrease as the number of bystanders increases.
Risky shift -Greater willingness to take risks in decision making in a group than as independent individuals
Polarization - Shift in attitudes by members of a group toward more extreme positions than the ones held before group’s discussion
Great person theory -Theory that leadership is a result of personal qualities and traits that qualify one to lead others
Industrial/organization psychology - Division of psychology concerned with the application of psychological principles to the problems of human organizations, especially work organizations
Hawthorne effect - Principle that subjects will alter their behavior because of researcher’s attention and not necessarily because of any specific experimentation

T Grant Clay

Period 3

8/26/08

AP Psychology Outline

Chapter 1: The Evolution of Psychology

 

Red – Definition of Key Terms

Green – Important People & Contributions

Blue – Important Points

 

1. How Psychology Developed
   
   1. Psychology – The Scientific Study of Behavior and Mental Processes.
   2. Mental Processes = Physiological and Cognitive Processes.
   3. Psychology comes from two Greek words. “Psyche” = Soul, and “Logos” = the Study of a Subject
   4. Psychology became a Scientific Discipline In 1870’s

 

1. The Contributions of Wundt and Hall
   
   1. Philosophy + Physiology = Psychology
   2. Wilhelm Wundt

                                                               i.     

German Professor.

                                                              ii.     

Campaigned to make Psychology an independent Scientific Discipline.

                                                            iii.     

Established first Psychology Laboratory in 1879 at the University of Leipzig.

                                                            iv.     

Established First Psychology Journal for research in 1881.

                                                             v.     

1879 is the Birth of Psychology.

                                                            vi.     

Wilhelm Wundt is the founder of Psychology.

                                                          vii.     

Wundt Considered the Consciousness the primary focus of Psychology.

                                                         viii.     

Many students under Wundt left Germany for America and established Psychology Labs in America.

1.  
   
   1. G. Stanley Hall

                                                               i.     

Student of Wundt

                                                              ii.     

Important to growth of Psychology in America.

·        

Established First Research Laboratory in America at Johns Hopkins University in 1883.

·        

Established First American Psychology Research Journal in 1887.

·        

Father of American Psychological Association and first President. Founded in 1892.

 

1. Structuralism VS Functionalism
   
   1. Competing Schools of Psychology Thought. Structuralism & Functionalism.
   2. Structuralism

                                                               i.     

Led by Edward Titchener, of Cornell University.

                                                              ii.     

STRUCTURALISM - THE TASK OF PSYCHOLOGY IS TO ANALYZE CONSIOUSNESS INTO ITS BASIC ELEMENTS AND INVESTIGATE HOW THESE ELEMENTS ARE RELATED. 

                                                            iii.     

Wanted to examine fundamental components of conscious existence like sensations, feelings, and images.

                                                            iv.     

Introspection – The careful, systematic self-observation of one’s own conscious experience.

·        

Primary Method used for study by Structuralism.

Functionalism

1.       

Led by William James, Formal Training in Medicine. Harvard University.

2.       

Functionalism – Psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure.

3.       

Principles of Psychology (1890) became standard reading for generations of psychologists and most influential text in history of psychology. (William James)

4.       

Psychology is deeply embedded in Cultural and Intellectual Influences.

a.       

Natural Selection: Using Darwin’s theory of natural Selection. Typical Psychological characteristics must serve a purpose.

b.      

Studies the Function of consciousness, rather than the Structure of it.

5.       

Wanted to understand the “stream of consciousness” not the “elements” of consciousness.

6.       

Functionalists brought interest in mental testing, patterns of development, effective education practices, and behavioral differences between sexes.

7.       

James Cattell and John Dewey

Who Won?

1.       

Structuralists brought Laboratory research.

2.       

Functionalism developed two modern schools of Psychology thought:

a.       

Applied Psychology

b.      

Behavioralism

 

4. Sigmund Freud

 

1. Unconscious – Contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on behavior.
2. Based on a Variety of Observations
   
   1. Slips of the tongue
   2. Dreams
3. Theorized that Psychological disturbances are caused by personal conflicts existing at unconscious level.
4. Psychoanalytic Theory – Attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior.
5. Suggested people are not the Masters of their own Minds.
6. Suggested Behavior is greatly influenced by how people cope with their sexual urges.
   
   1. Highly Scandalous at the time where sex was taboo.
7. Freud’s work highly engulfed in heated debate.

 

5. Behaviorism

1. Founded by John B. Watson
2. Behaviorism – Theoretical Orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior.
3. Argued to change study of Psychology from study of Conscious to study of Observable Behavior.
4. Behavior – Refers to any Observable response or activity by an organism.
5. Watson argued completely for Experience in the Nature VS Nurture debate.
6. Based lots of Study upon Stimuli – Response Psychology.
   
   1. Led to rise of using Animals in experiments as Controls.

 

6. B.F. Skinner Questions Free Will

 

A.  Returned to observable behaviors (as previously Watson had).

B.  Insisted internal thoughts could not be studied scientifically.

C.  Emphasized how environmental factors mold behavior.

D.  Fundamental principle:  Organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes, and they tend not to repeat responses that lead to neutral or negative outcomes.

E.  Book:  Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971)

7.               Humanists

        A. 1950’s revolted against “dehumanizing” schools of psychoanalysis and behaviorism.

        B.  Humanism:  a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, and their freedom and potential for personal growth. 

                        1.  Optimistic view of human nature.

                        2.  Humans are fundamentally different from other animals, so research on animals has little relevance.

                        3.  Contributions to treatments for psychological problems and disorders.

        C.  Carl Rogers

                        1.  Human behavior is governed by “self-concept”

                        2.  Must take into account the fundamental human drive toward personal growth.

        D.  Abraham Maslow

VIII.             Applied Psychology

        A.  Branch concerned with everyday practical problems.

        B.  Before WWI, not concerned with practical applications.

       

C.       Four areas:

                1.  Clinical

                2.  Counseling

                3.  Educational and School

                4.  Industrial and Organizational

IX.                 Clinical Psychology

        A.  Concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders. 

        B.  During WWII many psychologists worked in clinical psychology.

X.  Cognitive Psychology

        A.  Cognition:  mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge (consciousness)

        B.  Renewed interest in cognition.

        C.  Jean Piaget (1954)

                        1.  Studied children’s cognitive development.

        D.  Noam Chomsky (1957)

                        1.  Language.

        E.  Herbert Simon= Problem solving studies- won Nobel Prize (1978).

XI.                  Psychology and Cultural Diversity

        A.  Mostly been a Western enterprise.

        B.  Ethnocentrism:  the tendency to view one’s own group as superior to others and as the standard        for judging the worth of foreign ways.

        C.  Neglecting cultural values diminishes the value of their work.

XII.               Evolutionary Psychology

A.       Behavioral processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generations. 

B.       Mens vs. Womens visual-spatial ability.

1.        Men were traditionally hunters – visual skills.

2.           Women were gatherers – spatial skills.

1. Psychology Today

7 Major Research Areas in Psychology

                                                             v.     

Developmental Psychology

                                                            vi.     

Social Psychology

                                                          vii.     

Experimental Psychology

                                                         viii.     

Physiological Psychology

                                                             ix.     

Cognitive Psychology

                                                              x.     

 Personality

                                                             xi.     

Psychometrics

Applied Psychology Areas (Professional Areas)

·        

Clinical Psychology

a.       

Most Practiced Professional Psychology

·        

Counseling Psychology

·        

Educational & School Psychology

·        

Industrial & Organizational Psychology

Many Psychologists work on both Research & Application

·        

Some Work as Consultants, therapists, and counselors on a part-time basis.

Difference between Psychology & Psychiatry

·        

Both Analyze and treat Psychological disorders

·        

Psychiatry – A branch of medicine which deals with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders. (Prescribes Mediaction.)

·        

Clinical Psychology – Takes a non-Medical approach to treatment of psychological problems and disorders.

 

Psychology Major Research Areas

• Developmental Psychology – Looks at Human development across the life span. Developmental psychology once focused primarily on child development, but today devotes a great deal of research to adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
• Social Psychology – Focuses on interpersonal behavior and the role of social forces in governing behavior. Typical topics include attitude formation, attitude change, prejudice, conformity, attraction, aggression, intimate relationships, and behavior in groups.
• Experimental Psychology – Encompasses the tradional core of topics that psychology focused heavily on originally. Sensation, perception, learning, conditioning, motivation, and emotion.
• Physiological Psychology – Examines the influence of genetic factors on behavior and the role of the brain, nervous system, endocrine system, and bodily chemicals in the regulation of behavior.
• Cognitive Psychology – Focuses on “higher” mental processes, such as memory, reasoning, information processing, language, problem solving, decision making, and creativity.
• Personality – Describing and understanding individual’s consistency in behavior, which represents their personality. Also concerned with factors that shape personality with personality assessment.
• Psychometrics – Measurement of behavior and capacities, usually through development of psychological tests. Psychometrics is involved with the design of tests to assess personality, intelligence, and a wide range of abilities.

 

Psychology Professional Specialties

• Clinical Psychology – Evaluation, diagnosis, treatment of psychological disorders.
• Counseling Psychology – Providing assistance to people struggling with everyday problems of moderate severity. Marriage Counseling, School counseling, etc.
• Educational & School Psychology – Work to improve school teachings, curriculum, teacher training, etc.
• Industrial & Organized Psychology – Variety of tasks in Business world. Running human resources departments, improving staff morale and attitudes, increase job satisfaction and productivity, examining organizational structures and procedures, making recommendations for improvements.

 

1. Seven Unifying Themes
   
   1. Themes Related to Psychology as a Field of Study
   2. Psychology is Empirical
   3. Psychology is Theoretically Diverse
   4. Psychology evolves in a Socio-Historical Context.

 

Psychology is Empirical

·        

Empiricism – The premise that knowledge should be acquired through Observation.

·        

Psychology is Empirical = Conclusions are based upon direct observations, not reasoning, speculation, traditional beliefs, or common sense.

·        

Psychologists are not content with ideas that sound plausible. They conduct research to test their ideas.

·        

The Empirical approach requires a healthy Skepticism.

·        

Think critically of generalizations revolving around behavior, etc.

·        

The skeptical attitude means Psychologists are trained to ask “Where’s the Evidence?” or “How do you know?”

Psychology is theoretically diverse

·        

Psychologists do not set out to collect isolated facts; they seek to explain and understand what they observe.

·        

To achieve these goals they must construct Theories.

·        

Theory – A system of inter-related ideas used to explain a set of observations.

·        

A Theory links unrelated observations and tries to explain them.

·        

There can be many Psychology reasons for anything.

·        

Psychology is full of conflicting Theories.

·        

Many Theories on a subject could conflict, but they could all be correct.

 

Psychology Evolves in a Socio-Historical Context

·        

Trends, issues, and values in society influence Psychology’s evolution and Vice-Versa.

·        

World War 2 and Growing Global Economy have effected development of Psychology in History.

Themes Related to Psychology’s Subject Matter

a.       

Behavior is determined by Multiple Causes

b.      

Behavior is Shaped by Cultural Heritage

c.       

Heredity and Environment jointly Influence Behavior

d.      

People’s Experience of the World is Highly Subjective

Behavior is Determined by Multiple Causes

·        

Multifactorial Causation of Behavior – Idea that Behavior is governed by a complex network of interacting factors.

Behavior is shaped by Cultural Heritage

·        

Culture – The widely shared Customs, Beliefs, Values, Norms, Institutions, and other products of a community that are transmitted socially across generations.

·        

Culture is a broad Construct, encompassing everything from a society’s Legal System, assumptions about Family Roles, Diet, Politics, and Technology, attitudes about time, modes of Dress, Religion, and Sex.

·        

Culture can belong to entire societies, broad ethnic groups, small groups, and non-ethnic groups (Gays, Jews, etc.)

·        

Much of a persons Cultural Heritage is “invisible” because the person takes it for granted and isn’t readily apparent to outsiders.

·        

Don’t assume that every member of the group shares the same “Cultural Traits.”

Heredity and Environment Jointly Influence Behavior

·        

Nature VS Nurture – The debate over which if you’re Heredity or your Environment is responsible for your Behavior.

·        

Today, it is agreed upon that Heredity and Environment are both important in the influence upon Behavior.

People’s Experience of the World is highly subjective

·        

People actively process incoming stimulation, selectively focusing on some aspects and ignoring others. Moreover, they impose organization on the stimuli that they pay attention to.

·        

These Tendencies make perception Personalized and Subjective.

·        

People’s perceptions are swayed by their Motives. People sometimes see what they want to see.

·        

People also tend to see what they expect to see.

·        

Motives and Expectations differ People’s experiences. The Subjective Bias in perception turns out to explain a variety of Behavioral Tendencies.

o   

The Scientific Method is designed to counteract the element of Human Subjectivity in experiments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AP Psychology Outline

Chapter 2: The Research in Psychology

 

Red – Definition

Blue - Important Points

Green - Important People & Contributions

 

1. Scientific Approach to Behavior
   1. The Scientific Approach assumes that events are governed by laws.
   2. Psychologists assume Behavior is governed by laws. (Like the Earth is governed by the law of Gravity.)
   3. 3 Goals of Scientific Enterprise

                                                               i.      Measurement & Description – Develop Measurement techniques that describe behavior clearly and precisely.

                                                              ii.      Understanding & Prediction – Make and Test predictions called Hypothesis.

1.        Hypothesis – Statements about the relationship between two or more variables.

2.        Variables – Any measurable characteristics or behaviors that are controlled or observed in a study.

                                                            iii.      Application & Control – Apply research findings to help practical problems.

1.        Theory – The system of related ideas used to explain a set of observations. Must be testable.  Based upon experiments and evidence. Is always subject to revision.

 

2. Steps in a Scientific Investigation
   1. Step 1: Formulate a Testable Hypothesis
   2. Scientific Hypothesis must be formulated precisely, and variables under study must be clearly defined.
   3. Operational Definition – Describes the action or operation used to measure or control a variable.
   4. Step 2: Select Research Method & Define Study
   5. Put Hypothesis in an Empirical Test
   6. Empirical – Knowledge should be acquired through Observation.
   7. Research Method.
   8. Define the Study by collecting Participants/Subjects.
   9. Participants/Subjects – Persons or Animals whose behavior is observed in a study.
   10. Step 3: Collect the Data
   11. Data Collection Techniques – Procedures for Making Empirical Observation and Measurements.
   12. Examples include (Direct Observation, Questionnaire, Interview, Psychological Test, Physiological Recording, or Examination of Archival Records.)
   13. Step 4: Analyze the Data & Conclusion
   14. Use Statistics to analyze data and find if Hypothesis is supported.
   15. Conclude upon the Findings.
   16. Step 5: Report the Findings
   17. Give the findings to the public so it can be tested. Such as a journal.
   18. Journal – Periodical that publishes scholarly material, in a narrow field.

 

3. Advantages of Scientific Approach
   1. Clarity and Precision
   2. Small amount of Error

 

4. Experimental Research
   1. Experiment – Research Method where a variable is manipulated and changes to the second variable is observed.

                                                               i.      Independent & Dependent Variables

1.        Independent Variable – Variable that is controlled by the Experimenter to see its impact on the other Variable.

2.        Dependent Variable – Variable that is affected by the Independent (Controlled) Variable.

 

5. Experimental & Control Groups
   1. Experimental Group – Subjects who receive special treatment in regard to the Independent Variable.
   2. Control Group – Similar Subjects who do not receive special treatment given to experimental group.
   3. The Differences between the two Groups are the findings.

 

6. Extraneous Variables
   1. Extraneous Variables – Any variables other than the Independent variable that seems likely to influence the Dependent variable in a study.
   2. Confounding of Variables – When two Variables are linked together in a way that makes it harder to sort their specific effects. Causes great harm to Experiments.
   3. Random Assignment – Occurs when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group in the study.
7. Variations in Designing Experiments
   1. There can be numerous Independent or Dependent Variables.
   2. It is sometimes smarter to use only 1 group of students, who serve as their own Control Group.
   3. Interaction – Effect of one variable depends on the Effect of another.
8. Advantages & Disadvantages of Experimental Research
   1. Experiments are often artificial, and the decisions based practically might be different of the subjects.
   2. Ethical concerns prohibit some experiments.
   3. Some manipulations of variables are nearly impossible.

 

9. Descriptive/Correlational Research
   1. Used when Psychologists cannot control the variables they want to study.
   2. Includes Naturalistic Observation, Case Studies, and Surveys.
   3. Method permits investigators to only describe patterns of behavior and discover links or associations between variables.
10. Naturalistic Observation
    1. Naturalistic Observation – A researcher engages in careful Observation of behavior without directly intervening with the subjects.
11. Case Study
    1. Case Study – In-Depth investigation of an individual Subject.
    2. Generally do not conduct Empirical Data.
    3. Is Highly Subjective to debate.
12. Surveys
    1. Survey – Researchers use Questionnaires or Interviews to gather information about specific aspects of participant’s background and behavior.
    2. They depend on Self-Report data, which a variety of factors can distort the true data.
13. Disadvantages of Descriptive/Correlational Research
    1. Investigators cannot control events to isolate cause and effect.
    2. Cannot factually demonstrate the link between 2 Variables.

 

14. Statistics and Research
    1. Statistics – Use of Math to interpret, organizes, and summarizes numerical data.
    2. 2 types: Descriptive Statistics, and Inferential Statistics.
15. Descriptive Statistics
    1. Descriptive Statistics – Used to Organize and Summarize Data.
    2. Central Tendency (Typical Score)

                                                               i.      Median –The score that falls exactly in center of distribution of scores.

                                                              ii.      Mean – Arithmetic average of scores.

                                                            iii.      Mode – Most frequent score.

15. 3. Variability

                                                               i.      Variability – How much the scores in a data set vary from each other and from the mean.

                                                              ii.      Standard Deviation – index of amount of Variability in a set of data.

15. 4. Correlation

                                                               i.      Correlation – When two variables are related to each other.

                                                              ii.      Correlation Coefficient – Numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables.

1.        Indicates Direction (positive or negative) of relationship

2.        Indicates how strongly the two Variables are related.

                                                            iii.      Positive vs. Negative Correlation

1.        Positive Correlation – the two variables co-vary in the same direction.

2.        Negative Correlation – The two variables co-vary in the opposite direction.

                                                            iv.      Strength of Correlation

1.        Strength related between 1.00 and -1.00.

2.        Closer to 1.00 or -1.00, the stronger the Correlation.

                                                             v.      Correlation & Prediction

1.        As the Corollary increases in strength, the ability to predict one variable based on the other increases.

                                                            vi.      Correlation and Causation

1.        Corollary is not equivalent to Causation

2.        The Corollary could be affected by a third unknown variable that really is the reason for the interaction.

15. 5. Inferential Statistics

                                                               i.      Inferential Statistics – Used to interpret data and draw conclusions.

                                                              ii.      Statistical Significance – Exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low.  (Less than 5%)

 

16. Evaluating Research
    1. Replication – Repetition of the study to see whether the earlier results happen again.
    2. Sampling Bias

                                                               i.      Sample – Collection of subjects selected for observation.

                                                              ii.      Population – Much larger collection of Animals or People from where Sample is drawn.

                                                            iii.      Sampling Bias exists when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn.

16. 3. Placebo Effect

                                                               i.      Placebo Effect – When participant’s expectations lead them to experience some changes even though they receive not actual treatment.

                                                              ii.      Is assessed by the inclusion of a fake version of experimental treatment in a study without telling the subject.

16. 4. Distortions in Self-Report Data

                                                               i.      Social Desirability Bias – The tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself.

                                                              ii.      Response Set – Tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions.

1.        Some people tend to agree with everything on a questionnaire.

16. 5. Experimenter Bias

                                                               i.      Experimenter Bias – When a Researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained.

                                                              ii.      Double-Blind procedure – Research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control group. To combat Experimenter Bias.

17. Ethics
    1. The major Ethical dilemmas reflect upon use of deception, and the use of animals.
    2. Deception

                                                               i.      Lying is immoral, so shouldn’t be used in experiments.

                                                              ii.      Honesty vs. Knowledge

17. 3. Animal Research

                                                               i.      Most research upon animals done because not allowable with Humans.

                                                              ii.      Most controversy around using animals as subjects in pregnancy and birth defects.

                                                            iii.      PETA is leading group against Animal Research.

17. 4. Ethical Principles in Research

                                                               i.      People’s participation in research should be voluntary, and they can withdraw at any time.

                                                              ii.      Participants should not be subjected to harmful or dangerous treatments.

                                                            iii.      If deception is used in a study, participants need to be debriefed as soon as possible.

                                                            iv.      Subject’s right to privacy should never be violated.

                                                             v.      Harmful or painful procedures on animals must be thoroughly justified by potential benefits of research.

                                                            vi.      Research animals are entitled to decent living conditions.

 

Grant Clay

12.0pt">Period 3

9/7/08

12.0pt"> 

AP Psychology Outline

Chapter 3: The Biological Bases of Behavior

 

Red – Definition

Blue - Important Points

Green - Important People & Contributions

 

Nervous System: The Basics

1. Neurons – Individual cells in the nervous system that receive, integrate, and transmit information.
   
   1. They are basic links that allow communication within the Nervous System.
   2. Soma – Cell Body of the neuron that contains the nucleus and much of cells normal organs.
   3. Dendrite – Parts of a Neuron that receives information.
   4. Axon – Long fiber that transmits information away to other neurons, muscles, or glands.
   5. Myelin Sheath – Insulating Material that encases some Axons.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l6 level3 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      It speeds up to transmission of information.

6. Terminal Button – Small knobs where neurotransmitters are transmitted activating neighboring neurons.       
7. Synapse – Junction where information is transmitted from one neuron to another.
8. There is lots of variety among Neurons, so not all neurons contain all these parts.
1. Glia – Cells in Nervous System that provides various support for neurons.
   
   1. Glial cells supply nourishment to neurons, remove neurons waste products, and provide insulation around many axons.

 

The Neural Impulse: Using Energy to Send Information

tab-stops:list 1.0in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Neural Impulse – The signal that moves through the Neuron.

tab-stops:list 1.0in"> "Times New Roman";color:green">2.        All the Study of the Neuron done on a Squids Neuron (Which is much bigger than a Humans) By Hodgkin and Huxley.

tab-stops:list 1.0in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Neuron At Rest

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         The Neuron at rest is a small battery, from the uneven Ion charges from the fluid around it of Sodium (Na) and Potassium (K).

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Resting Potential – The Stable, Negative Charge when the Cell is inactive.

tab-stops:list 1.0in"> "Times New Roman"">2.        The Action Potential

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Action Potential – A very brief shift in a Neuron’s electrical charge that travels along an axon.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Absolute Refractory Period – Minimum length of time after an action potential during which another action potential cannot begin. Only about 1 or 2 Milliseconds.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         All-Or-None Law – Neural Impulses either Fire or don’t fire. There is no Half-Fire. A faster Rate of transmission means a stronger Stimulus.

tab-stops:list 1.0in"> "Times New Roman"">3.        The Synapse

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Synaptic Cleft – The gap between the terminal button of one neuron and the cell membrane of another neuron.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         The two Membranes of the different Neurons do not touch.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Neurotransmitters – Chemicals that transmit information from one Neuron to another.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Synaptic Vesicles – The body that Neurotransmitters are transmitted across the gap in.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Pre-Synaptic Neuron – The Neuron that sends the Signal across the Gap.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Post-Synaptic Neuron – The Neuron that receives the Signal.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Receptor Site - Where the Synaptic Vesicles bind releasing the information into the new Neuron.

 

tab-stops:list 1.0in"> "Times New Roman"">4.        Receiving Signals: Postsynaptic Potentials

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Post-Synaptic Potential (PSP) – A voltage change at the receptor site on a postsynaptic cell membrane.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         PSP’s are not normal">All-Or-Nothing Law; they are graded and increase/decrease the probability of a neural impulse in the receiving Cell.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Excitatory PSP – Positive Voltage shift, Increases likelihood that Postsynaptic Neuron will fire Action Potentials.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Inhibitory PSP – Negative Voltage shift, decreases likelihood that Postsynaptic Neuron will fire Action Potentials.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         The Voltage shift depends upon which Receptor Sites are activated in the Postsynaptic Neuron.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Reuptake – Process which Neurotransmitters are sponged up from the synaptic cleft by the Presynaptic Membrane.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Thousands of Neurons are connected to Thousands of Neurons.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         If there is enough Excitatory PSP’s, electrical voltage builds up to the threshold where an Action Potential can be fired. However, many Inhibitory PSP’s will cancel the effects of the Excitatory PSP’s.

 

tab-stops:list 1.0in"> "Times New Roman"">5.        Neurotransmitters and Behavior

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Acetylcholine – Transmitter between Motor Neurons and Voluntary Muscles.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Agonist – Chemical that mimics the action of a Neurotransmitter.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Antagonist – Chemical that opposes the action of a Neurotransmitter.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         The Agonist causes PSP’s, while the Antagonist Blocks PSP’s.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Monoamines – 3 Neurotransmitters: Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Serotonin.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Dopamine – Used by Neurons that Control Voluntary Movement.

tab-stops:list 2.5in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Degeneration of Dopamine leads to Parkinson’s disease.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Serotonin – Plays a prominent role in sleep, wakefulness, and eating Behavior.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:blue">·         Abnormal levels of Monoamines lead to Psychological Disorders.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Depression = Low activation of Norepinephrine and Serotonin Synapses.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Schizophrenia – Over activation of Dopamine Synapses.

tab-stops:list 2.5in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Schizophrenia affects 1% of Population, and causes Hospitalization more than any Psychological Disorder.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:blue">·         Effects of Drugs like Cocaine and Amphetamines are caused by temporary increased activity at Dopamine and Norepinephrine Synapses.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         GABA – GABA and Glycine acts as inhibitory effects at all synapses.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Plays in Anxiety, Seizures, and Sleep.

tab-stops:list 1.5in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol">·         Endorphins – Internally produced chemicals that resemble Opiates in structure and effects.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:green">·         Candace Pert & Solomon Snyder: Morphine exerts its effects by binding to specialized receptors in the Brain. (Endorphin Receptors) normal">

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:green">·         Endorphins contribute to modulation of Pain and a variety of other things.

 

Organization of Nervous System

1. Peripheral Nervous  System & Central Nervous System
   
   1. Nerves – Bundles of Neuron Fibers (Axons) that are routed together in the Peripheral Nervous System.
2. Peripheral Nervous System – Made up of all those nerves that lie outside the Brain and Spinal Cord.
   
   1. Somatic Nervous System – Made up of Nerves that connect to voluntary skeletal Muscles and to Sensory Receptors.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Afferent Nerve Fibers – Axons that carry inward to Central nervous System from the Periphery.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Efferent Nerve Fibers – Axons that carry information outward from the Central Nervous System to the Periphery of the Body.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iii.      Somatic Nerves let you “feel” the world and move around in it.

2. Autonomic Nervous System – Made up of Nerves that connect to the heart, blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Governed by the Central nervous System.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Controls automatic, involuntary, visceral functions.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iii.      Also controls physiological effect of Emotions.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Flight-Or-Fight Response – Walter Cannon – Organisms respond to threat Physiologically by preparing for attacking (Fight) or preparing to flee (Fight)

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iv.      Sympathetic Division – Branch of the Autonomic Nervous System that mobilizes the body’s resources for emergencies. (Fight-or Flight, Adrenaline)

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                             v.      Parasympathetic Division – Branch of the Autonomic Nervous system that generally conserves Bodily Resources. (Digestion, Slowing Heart Rate, etc.)

3. Central Nervous System
   
   1. Central Nervous System – Consists of the brain and the Spinal Cord.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Protected by Sheaths called the Meninges.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Inflammation of the normal">Meninges is called the Disease Meningitis.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Cerebrospinal Fluid – Nourishes the Brain/Spinal Cord and provides a protective cushion.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iii.      Spinal Cord – Connects the Brain to the rest of the Body through the Peripheral Nervous System.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l9 level3 lfo3;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iv.      Brain – The Part of the Central Nervous System in the Skull. Most Important.

 

Looking Inside the Brain: Research methods

1. Electrical Recording – Electroencephalograph (EEG) - Device that monitors the electrical activity of the Brain over time by attaching Electrodes t the scalp.
2. Lesioning – Destroying pieces of the Brain and observing the effects. Mostly done on Animals.
3. Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB) – Sending a weak electric current into a brain structure to stimulate (activate) it.
4. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) – Technique using Magnets that permits scientists to temporarily enhance or depress activity in a specific area of the Brain.
5. Brain-Imaging Procedures – CT. PET, and MRI scans can give scientists imaging of the Brain and the parts of it that are aroused by stimuli.

 

The Brain and Behavior

1. Hindbrain
   
   1. Hindbrain – Includes the Cerebellum and two structures found in the lower part of the brainstem: The Medulla and the Pons.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Medulla – Controls unconscious but vital functions like breathing, blood flow, muscle tone, and reflexes.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Pons – Bridge of Fibers that connects the Brainstem to the Cerebellum.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iii.      Cerebellum – Controls coordination of movement, sense of equilibrium, and balance.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Cerebellum is one of the first structures depressed by Alcohol.

2. Midbrain – Segment of Brainstem between Hindbrain and Forebrain.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Concerned with Senses: Sight, Hearing.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Reticular Formation – In both the Hindbrain and Midbrain, contributes to muscle reflexes, breathing, pain perception, sleep, and arousal.

3. Forebrain – largest and most complex region of Brain. Includes the Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Limbic System, and Cerebrum.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Thalamus – Where all sensory information (Except Smell) must pass to get to the Cerebral Cortex. Integrates all Senses.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Hypothalamus – Regulates Basic Biological Needs. Controls Autonomic Nervous System and Endocrine System.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Regulates the 5 F’s to Survival. {Fighting, Fleeing, Feeding, F*cking (Mating)}

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iii.      Limbic System – Loosely connected network between cerebral cortex and deeper areas. Not well defined area.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Controls Emotion, Memory, and Motivation.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iv.      Cerebrum – Largest and most complex part of Brain. Responsible for most complex mental activities.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">1.        Controls Learning, Remembering, Thinking, and Consciousness itself.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">2.        Cerebral Cortex – Wrinkled outer layer of Cerebrum.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">3.        Cerebral Hemispheres – Right and left halves of Cerebrum.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">4.        Corpus Callosum – Structure that connects the two cerebral Hemispheres.

tab-stops:list 2.0in"> "Times New Roman"">5.        The Lobes – Divisions of Hemispheres in the Brain.

tab-stops:list 2.5in"> "Times New Roman"">a.        Occipital Lobe – Primary Visual Cortex. Sense of Sight.

tab-stops:list 2.5in"> "Times New Roman"">b.       Parietal Lobe – Primary Somatosensory cortex. Sense of Touch.

tab-stops:list 2.5in"> "Times New Roman"">c.        Temporal Lobe – Primary Auditory Cortex. The Sense of Hearing.

tab-stops:list 2.5in"> "Times New Roman"">d.       Frontal Lobe – Primary Motor Cortex. Controls movements of Muscles. Largest Lobe.

4. The Plasticity of the Brain

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Experience sculpts features of the Brain structure.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Damage/Destruction of Brain Tissue or Sensory pathways leads to neural reorganization.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iii.      Adult brain can generate new neurons.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l1 level3 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                            iv.      Younger Brains are more malleable than older Brains.

 

Right Brain/Left Brain: Cerebral Laterality

1. Roger Sperry Studied Split Brain in 1960’s. Won Nobel Prize for Work.
2. Split Brain Research
   
   1. Split-Brain Surgery – Corpus Callosum (Connects the two Hemispheres) is cut to reduce severity of Epileptic Seizures.
   2. Each Hemisphere’s primary connections are to the opposite side of the body.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l8 level3 lfo6;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Right Brain Controls the Left side of Body, Left brain controls Right side of Body.

3. Hemispheric Specialization of Intact brain
   
   1. Perceptual Asymmetries – Left/Right imbalances between the cerebral hemispheres in the speed of visual or auditory processing.
   2. Left Hemisphere = Verbal Processing, Language, speech, reading, writing.
   3. Right Hemisphere = Nonverbal processing, spatial, musical, and visual-recognition tasks.

 

Endocrine System

1. Endocrine System – Consists of Glands that secrete chemicals into the bloodstream that help control bodily functioning.
2. Hormones – The chemical Messengers in the Endocrine System.
   
   1. Hormones travel throughout the body much slower than Neurotransmitters.
   2. They regulate many physical and Behavioral functions.
3. Pituitary Gland – Based in the Hypothalamus, it releases the Hormones into the body.
4. The Endocrine System is in charge of the Adrenaline effect.

 

Heredity and Behavior

1.  Behavioral Genetics – Field that studies the influence of Genetic Factors on Behavioral Traits.
2. Basic Principles of Genetics
   
   1. Chromosomes – Strands of DNA that carry Genetic Information.
   2. Zygote – Single Cell formed by the union of a Sperm and Egg.
   3. Genes – DNA segments that serve as key units in Hereditary Transmission.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo8;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Chromosomes come in 23 Pairs, 46 Total.

4. Homozygous – Two genes in a specific Pair are the Same.
5. Heterozygous – Two genes on a specific pair are Different.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo8;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Dominant Gene – Gene that is Expressed when paired Genes are different.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo8;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Recessive Gene – Gene that is Masked when paired Genes are different.

6. Genotype – Persons Genetic Makeup.
7. Phenotype – Ways in which a Genotype is shown in Observable Characteristics.
8. Polygenic Traits – Characteristics that are influenced by more than 1 Pair of Genes.
2. Heredity Research Methods
   
   1. Family Studies – Researchers compare Blood relatives to see how much they are similar in a trait.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo8;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      More similarity will be found among family members who share more genes. (E.g. Siblings.)

2. Twin Studies – Researchers assess hereditary influence by comparing the resemblance of Identical and Fraternal Twins on a specific trait.
3. Identical Twins – Emerge from one Zygote that splits for unknown reasons.
4. Fraternal Twins – Emerge from two eggs being simultaneously fertilized by different sperm cells.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo8;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Identical Twins are genetically 100% Same.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo8;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                              ii.      Fraternal Twins are genetically 50% Same.

5. Adoption Studies – Assess Hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between adopted children and both Biological and Adoptive parents.
3. Genetic Mapping – Process of determining the location and chemical sequence of specific genes on specific chromosomes.
4. Interplay of Heredity and Environment
   
   1. Both Heredity and Environment effect Behavior.

 

Evolutionary Bases of Behavior

1. Charles Darwin
   
   1. Fitness – The reproductive success of an individual organism in comparison to population.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l2 level3 lfo9;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      “Survival of the Fittest”

2. Natural Selection – Heritable characteristics that provide a survival or reproductive advantage are more likely to be passed on to latter generations.

-9.0pt;mso-list:l2 level3 lfo9;tab-stops:list 1.5in">                                                               i.      Natural selection works on populations, not individual organisms.

 

Refinements to Evolution

2. Theodore Dobzhansky – By using the Hereditary work of Gregor Mendel, synthesized Evolution into a widely accepted theory on 1950’s.
3. Adaptation – Inherited characteristic that increased in a population through Natural Selection, because it solved a problem of survival or Reproduction when it emerged.
4. Inclusive Fitness – Individuals own reproductive success plus the effects the organism has on the reproductive success of others.
   
   1. The more closely genetically related one is, the more likely to perform Self-Sacrifice.

 

Behavior as an Adaptive Trait

• Behavior Adapts over Generations to help avoid Predators and to Reproduce.

 

Grant Clay

Period 3

9/14/08

 

AP Psychology Outline

Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception

 

Red – Definition

Blue - Important Points

Green - Important People & Contributions

 

1. Sensation – The Stimulation of Sense Organs.
2. Perception – the Selection, Organization, and interpretation of Sensory Input.
3. Psychophysics: Basic Concepts & Issues
   
   1. Psychophysics - Study of how physical stimuli are translated into Psychological Experience.
   2. Gustav Fechner

                                                               i.      Psychophysics Psychologists in 1860’s at University of Leipzig.

                                                              ii.      Wilhelm Wundt based lots of research upon Fechner.

                                                            iii.      Question: For any Given Sense, what is the weakest detectable Stimulus?

                                                            iv.      Absolute Threshold – Minimum Stimulus Intensity that an Organism can detect.

                                                             v.      As Stimulus Intensity Increases, the Subject’s probability to responding to Stimuli Gradually increases.

                                                            vi.      The Absolute Threshold is the Stimulus Intensity detected 50% of the time.

                                                          vii.      Just Noticeable Difference (JND) – The smallest difference in stimulus intensity that a specific sense can detect.

                                                         viii.      Weber’s Law – The size of a Just Noticeable Difference is a constant proportion of the size of the initial Stimulus.

1.        Weber’s Fraction – The Fractions that apply to different Sensory Inputs until a Difference is noted. Increases constantly proportionately.

3. Signal-Detection Theory – The detection of stimuli involves Decision Processes, along as Sensory Processes, which are both influenced by a variety of factors besides Stimulus Intensity.

                                                               i.      Noise – Background distractions that lower the chance of detection of a Stimulus.

4. Subliminal Perception – The registration of Sensory Input without conscious awareness.

                                                               i.      Such as Subliminal Messages in movies, advertisements, etc.

John Krosnick – Experimented and found that “Subliminal stimulation generally produces weak effects.

5. Sensory Adaptation – The Gradual Decline in Sensitivity to prolonged Stimulation.

                                                               i.      Ex. You jump in Cold Water; it is very cold at first, But You Get Used to It.

                                                              ii.      Process that keeps people tuned into the changes rather than constants in Sensory Input.

4. Sight
   
   1. The Stimulus: Light

                                                               i.      People need Light to See

                                                              ii.      Light – Form of Electromagnetic Radiation that travels as a wave at the Speed of Light.

                                                            iii.      Amplitude – Affects perception of brightness (Height).

                                                            iv.      Wavelength – Affects perception of Color (Distance between Peaks).

2. The Eye

                                                               i.      Two Purposes: Channel light to the Neural Tissue that receives it (Retina). And they House the Retina.

                                                              ii.      Lens – Transparent eye Structure that focuses the light rays falling on the Retina.

                                                            iii.      Nearsightedness – Caused by Retina, Close objects are seen clearly, but distant objects appear blurry.

                                                            iv.      Farsightedness – Distant objects are seen clearly, but close objects appear blurry.

                                                             v.      Pupil – The opening into the center of the Iris that permits light to pass into the rear chamber of the eye.

                                                            vi.      Iris – Regulates the amount of Light entering the Pupil by controlling the size of the Pupil.

3. The Retina

                                                               i.      Retina – Neural Tissue lining the inside back surface of the eye; it absorbs light, processes images, and sends visual information to the brain.

1.        The Retina is a part of the Central Nervous System.

                                                              ii.      Optic Disk – A hole in the Retina where the Optic Nerve Fibers exit the eye.

4. Visual Receptors: Rods & Cones

                                                               i.      Rods Outnumber Cones.

                                                              ii.      Located in the Retina.

                                                            iii.      Cones – Play a key role in Daylight Vision and Color Vision.

                                                            iv.      Fovea – Tiny spot in the center of the Retina that contains only Cones; visual clarity is best here.

                                                             v.      Rods – Play a key role in Night Vision and Peripheral Vision.

1.        When you want to see an object in the dark, look slightly above or below where it should be to find it easier.

5. Dark and Light Adaptation

                                                               i.      Dark Adaptation – The process in which the eye becomes more sensitive to light in low illumination.

                                                              ii.      Light Adaptation – Process in which the eye becomes less sensitive to light in High Illumination.

6. Information Processing in the Retina

                                                               i.      Receptive Field of a Visual Cell – The Retina area that when stimulated, affects the firing of that Cell.

1.        Light in the Center of the Receptive Field Increases firing Rate.

2.        Light in the Outside of the Receptive Field Decreases Firing Rate.

                                                              ii.      Lateral Antagonism – Occurs when Neural Activity in a cell opposes activity in surrounding cells.

1.        Allows viewing Contrast in sight. From light falling on center or outside of Receptive Field.

7. Vision & The Brain

                                                               i.      Imaging is processed in the Brain.

                                                              ii.      Visual Pathways to the Brain

1.        Optic Chiasm – The point at which the optic Nerves from the Inside half of each eye cross over and then project to the opposite half of the Brain.

a.        Leads to Thalamus 90% of the Time. Then to Occipital Lobe.

b.       10% Leads to the Superior Colliculus, Then Thalamus, then Occipital Lobe.

                                                                                                                                       i.      Belongs to the perception of Motion and Coordination of Visual input with other Sensory Input.

c.        Main Visual Pathway leads to Magnocellular and Parvocellular channels.

d.       Parallel Processing – 2 Channels simultaneously extract different kinds of Information from the same input.

8. Information Processing in the Visual Cortex

                                                               i.      Hubel & Wiesel

1.        Feature Detectors – Neurons that respond selectively to very specific Features of more Complex Stimuli.

a.        Gets more specific as Moving along the Visual Processing System.

5. Viewing the World in Color
   
   1. Color is viewed by Wavelength (Hue) Amplitude (Brightness) and Purity (Saturation).
   2. Subtractive Color Mixing – Works by removing some Wavelength of light, leaving less light than originally there.
   3. Additive Color Mixing – Works by Superimposing Lights, putting more light in the mixture than exists in any one light by itself.
   4. Trichromatic Theory - Color Vision holds that the Human eye has 3 types of Receptors with differing sensitivities to different light wavelengths.
   5. Color Blindness – Inability to distinguish variety among colors.
   6. Complementary Colors – Pairs of Colors that produce gray tones when mixed together.
   7. Afterimage – A visual image that persists after a stimulus is removed.
   8. Opponent Process Theory – Ewald Hering – Color Vision holds that color perception depends on receptors that make antagonistic responses to three pairs of colors.
   9. Recent Studies show both Theories are somewhat Right.

                                                               i.      There are 3 Different Types of Cones

6. Perceiving Forms, Patterns, and Objects.
   
   1. Reversible Figure – A drawing that is compatible with two interpretations that can shift back and forth.
   2. The Same Visual Input can result in radically Different Perceptions.
   3. Perceptual Set – A readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way.
   4. Inattentional Blindness – Involves ones failure to see visible objects or events because one’s attention is focused elsewhere.

                                                               i.      Ex. You are focused on something and fail to notice another event.

5. Feature Analysis – Process of detecting specific elements in visual input and assembling them into a more complex form.

                                                               i.      You use Lines, Curves, and Corners to create and identify Objects.

6. Bottom-Up Processing – A Progression from individual elements to the whole.
7. Top-Down Processing – A progression from the Whole to the Elements.
8. Subjective Contours – Perception of Contours (Outlines) where actually none exist.
9. Both Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processing have their effect in Perception.
10. Gestalt Psychology – Influential School of Thought that emerged in Germany in 1950’s.
11. The Whole is greater than the Parts.
12. Top-Down Processing Principle.
13. Phi Phenomenon – The illusion of Movement created by presenting visual Stimuli in Rapid Succession.
14. Gestalt Principles – How the Visual System Organizes a Scene into discreet forms.

                                                               i.      Figure and Ground –

1.        Figure = Object being Looked at.

a.        Has More Substance, appear Closer, and Stand Out.

2.        Ground = Background.

                                                              ii.      Proximity – Elements that are close to one another are grouped together.

                                                            iii.      Closure – Viewers Supply Missing Elements to close or complete a Familiar figure.

                                                            iv.      Similarity – Elements that are similar are grouped together.

                                                             v.      Simplicity – Viewers Organize elements in the simplest way Possible.

                                                            vi.      Continuity – Viewers see elements in ways that produce smooth Continuation.

15. Perceptual Hypothesis

                                                               i.      Distal Stimuli – Stimuli that lies in the Distance.

                                                              ii.      Proximal Stimuli – The Stimulus energies that impinge directly on Sensory Receptors.

                                                            iii.      Perceptual Hypothesis – An inference about which distal stimuli could be responsible for the proximal stimuli sensed.

                                                            iv.      Our Perceptual Hypotheses are guided by our Experience-Based Expectations.

7. Perceiving Depth or Distance
   
   1. Depth Perception – Interpretation of Visual Cues that indicate how near or Far away Objects are.
   2. Binocular Depth Cues – Clues about Distance based on the differing views of the two eyes.
   3. Retinal Disparity – Refers to the fact that objects within 25 feet project images to slightly different locations on the Right and Left Retinas, so each eye sees a slightly Different view of the Object.
   4. Convergence – Involves sensing the eyes converging toward each other as they focus on Closer Objects.
   5. Monocular Depth Cues – Clues about the distance based on the image in either eye alone.
   6. Motion Parallax – Images at different distances move across the Retina at different Rates.
   7. Pictorial Depth Cues – Cues about distance that can be given in a flat Picture.
8. Perceiving Geographical Slant
   
   1. Hills Look even steeper when people are tired.
9. Perceptual Consistencies in Vision
   
   1. Perceptual Consistency – A tendency to experience a stable perception in the face of Continually Changing Sensory Input.
10. Visual Illusions
    
    1. Visual Illusion – An inexplicable discrepancy between the appearance of a visual Stimulus and its Physical Reality.
    2. Impossible Figures – Objects that can be represented in two-dimensional pictures but cannot exist in 3D space.
11. Hearing
    
    1. Wavelengths of Sound are measured in Frequency, or Hertz (Hz).
    2. You Selectively Hear just like you Selectively See.
    3. Amplitude is how loud the Sound is, Measured in Decibels (Db)

                                                               i.      Perceived loudness doubles every 10 Db.

4. Sensory Processing in the Ear

                                                               i.      External Ear depends upon the Vibration of Air Molecules.

                                                              ii.      Middle Ear depends upon the Vibration of Movable Bones.

                                                            iii.      Inner Ear depends upon Waves in a Fluid.

1.        This is then converted into Neural Impulses sent to the Brain.

                                                            iv.      External Ear

1.        Pinna – Sound Collecting Cone.

2.        Eardrum – Membrane that Vibrates in Response to Sound.

                                                             v.      Middle Ear

1.        Ossicles – 3 Bones that Transmit changes in Air Pressure.

                                                            vi.      Inner Ear

1.        Cochlea – Fluid Filled, Coiled tunnel that contains the Receptors for Hearing.

2.        Basilar Membrane – Runs the Length of the Spiraled Cochlea, and holds the Auditory Receptors.

12. Theories of Hearing
    
    1. Place Theory – Perception of Pitch corresponds to the Vibration of different places along the Basilar Membrane.
    2. Frequency Theory – Perception of Pitch corresponds to the rate/frequency at which the entire Basilar Membrane Vibrates.
    3. Both Theories are somewhat correct.
    4. Volley Principle – Groups of Auditory Nerve Fibers fire Neural Impulses in rapid succession, creating Volleys of Impulses.
13. Perceiving Sources of Sound
    
    1. Auditory Localization – Locating the source of a sound in Space.
    2. Loudness & Timing of Sounds are most important for finding the Source of Sound.

 

14. Taste and Smell
    
    1. Gustatory System – The Sensory system for Taste.
    2. Olfactory System – The Sensory system for Smell.
    3. Odor of Food greatly adds to Flavor of Food.
    4. Taste Buds – Receptive for Taste in the Mouth.
    5. Cilia – Receptive for Smell in the Nose.
15. Touch
    
    1. Receptive Field for Touch – When touched Neurons fire to the Brain alerting it.
    2. Pain – Slow and Fast Pathways to the Brain.
    3. Pain is a response that is subjective in the Brain.
    4. Gate-Control Theory – Incoming Pain Sensations must pass through a “gate” in the Spinal Cord that can be closed, thus blocking ascending Pain Signals.
    5. Endorphins can dull Pain.
16. Other Senses
    
    1. Kinesthetic System – Monitors the Positions of the Various parts of the Body.
    2. Vestibular System – Responds to Gravity and keeps you informed of your body’s location in Space.

                                                               i.      Provides sense of Balance.

 

 

Grant Clay

Period 3

9/20/08

 

AP Psychology Outline

Chapter 5: Variations in Consciousness

 

Red – Definition

Blue - Important Points

Green - Important People & Contributions

 

1. Nature of Consciousness
   1. Consciousness – the awareness of Internal and External stimuli.

                                                               i.      You’re “Stream of Consciousness” Zig-Zags in all directions.

2. Variations in Levels of Awareness

                                                               i.      Freud’s Arguments

1.        Unconscious Needs, Wishes, and Conflicts influence Behavior and Feelings.

2.        Conscious and Unconscious are Different Levels of Awareness.

3.        Consciousness is not an All-Or-None process.

4.        When people are asleep or under anesthesia, they remain aware of external events to some degree.

3. Evolutionary Roots of Consciousness

                                                               i.      Consciousness evolved because it helped ancient humans survive and reproduce.

                                                              ii.      Consciousness allows thinking through courses of action and their consequences. Then to choose the best course without having to try all the bad ones.

                                                            iii.      Forethought and Planning are Valuable Conscious adaptations.

4. Consciousness & Brain Activity

                                                               i.      Electroencephalograph (EEG) – Measures electrical activity in the Brain.

                                                              ii.      Brain Waves

1.        Measures in Amplitude (Height) and Frequency (Cycles per second (cps).

2.        4 Frequency Bands

a.        Beta – 13-24 cps – Normal Waking thought, problem solving.

b.       Alpha – 8-12 cps – Deep Relaxation, Blank Mind, Meditation.

c.        Theta – 4-7 cps – Light Sleep

d.       Delta – 1-3 cps – Deep Sleep

e.        Consciousness is correlated with Variations of Brain Activity

2. Biological Rhythms & Sleep
   1. Biological Rhythms – Periodic Fluctuations in Physiological functioning.

                                                               i.      Organisms have internal “Biological Clocks.”

2. Circadian Rhythms – The 24-hour biological cycles found in Humans and many animals.

                                                               i.      Internal Clocks control many functions like sleep, hormones, urine, etc.

                                                              ii.      Melatonin – Hormone that adjusts Biological Clocks.

3. Ignoring Circadian Rhythms

                                                               i.      Going to sleep at an irregular time causes poorer quality of sleep. Affecting many Conscious processes.

4. Realigning Circadian Rhythms

                                                               i.      Taking Melatonin reduces effects of irregular Circadian Rhythms, reducing Jet Lag.

3. Sleep & Waking Cycle
   1. Electromyograph (EMG) – Records Muscular activity and Tension.
   2. Electrooculograph (EOG) – Records Eye Movement.
   3. Stages of Sleep – Sleep Cycles through 5 Stages.
   4. Stages 1-4 – Non-REM Sleep (NREM)

                                                               i.      Stage 1 – Brief Transitional stage of Light Sleep.

1.        Hypnic Jerks – Muscular Contractions occur during Stage 1.

                                                              ii.      Stage 2 – Brief bursts of higher frequency Brain Waves. (Sleep Spindles)

1.        Respiration rate, Heart rate, Muscle tension, & Body temperature begin to decline.

                                                            iii.      Stage 3 & 4

1.        Slow Wave Sleep – High Amplitude, Low-frequency delta waves become prominent in EEG recordings.

                                                            iv.      Then the Cycle reverses and moves back up stages, and then back down.

                                                             v.      Stage 5/Stage 1

1.        REM sleep – Rapid Eye Movement Sleep. High Frequency, Low Amplitude Brain waves, and Vivid Dreaming.

a.        Deep Stage of Sleep.

b.       Muscles become paralyzed.

c.        Brain Activity dominated by Beta Waves.

                                                                                                                                       i.      Beta Waves are the awake processing thought and Problem solving Brain waves.

d.       Dreaming Occurs in REM sleep.

e.        REM occurs about 4 Times a Night.

                                                                                                                                       i.      Intervals become longer throughout the Night.

5. Age Trends in Sleep

                                                               i.      Babies spend 50% of sleeping time in REM.

                                                              ii.      Adults spend 20% of sleeping time in REM.

                                                            iii.      Elderly spend more time in Stage 1 Sleep.

6. Culture and Sleep

                                                               i.      Most Cultures sleep about the same amount of time.

                                                              ii.      Siesta Cultures – Tropical cultures take a mid-day nap around 2:00 PM to avoid the hottest time of day.

7. Neural Bases of Sleep

                                                               i.      Ascending Reticular Activating System – Fibers in Reticular formation that influence Sleep and rising from Sleep.

1.        Cutting Fibers = Continuous Sleep.

2.        Electric Stimulating Fibers = Awakening.

                                                              ii.      Many different Processes affect Sleep.

8. Evolutionary Bases of Sleep

                                                               i.      To recharge the Body from daily processes. To learn during Sleep.

9. Sleep Deprivation

                                                               i.      Impairs reaction time, attention, coordination, decision making, etc.

                                                              ii.      REM Deprivation – In sleep you rebound from being deprived of REM sleep by REM sleeping much more often to balance out.

10. REM sleep & Learning/Memory

                                                               i.      Memory Consolidation – REM firms up learning that takes place during the day.

                                                              ii.      If you Learn/Train, then sleep, there is a substantial improvement in performance.

                                                            iii.      Sleep Enhances memory of learning Tasks that occurred during the day.

                                                            iv.      Length of Time spent in REM correlates with increments in learning.

                                                             v.      Sleep may foster creative insight the next morning to the previous day learning.

                                                            vi.      Time Spent in specific stages of sleep Stabilize or Solidify Memories formed During the Day.

11. Sleep Disorders

                                                               i.      Insomnia – Chronic problems in getting adequate sleep. Most common Sleep Disorder.

1.        Caused by Anxiety, Tension, Emotional Problems, and Health Problems.

2.        Sedatives/Sleeping Pills are Medication for Insomnia.

a.        Reduce amount of REM & Leave sluggish effect the next day.

                                                              ii.      Narcolepsy – Disease causing sudden onsets of sleep during waking periods.

                                                            iii.      Sleep Apnea – Frequent reflexive gasping for air that awakens a person and disrupts sleep.

                                                            iv.      Nightmares – Anxiety arousing dreams that lead to awakening, usually from REM sleep.

1.        Nightmares are usually caused by stress, depression, or emotional disturbances.

                                                             v.      Night Terrors - Abrupt awakenings from NREM sleep accompanied by intense autonomic arousal and feeling of Panic. Bolt up with a scream.

1.        Do not indicate an Emotional Disturbance.

                                                            vi.      Somnambulism – Sleepwalking.

1.        Appears to be Genetic. Does not indicate Emotional Disturbance.

4. Dreams
   1. REM Dreams = More Visual, Vivid, Story-like Dreams.
   2. NREM Dreams = Not as brilliant as REM Dreams.
   3. Lucid Dreaming – People realize they are dreaming in their Dream.
   4. Mental Thought Processes while asleep are close to Conscious Thought Processes.
   5. Contents of Dreams

                                                               i.      Most dreams unfold in familiar settings, with familiar characters.

                                                              ii.      Themes of Dreams are Common

1.        Sex, Aggression, Misfortune.

2.        People usually dream about themselves.

3.        Men and Women have slightly different dreams reflecting their Social Roles.

6. Links between Dreams & Waking Life

                                                               i.      People often Dream about what is going on in their lives.

                                                              ii.      Dreams are usually waking ideas and emotional worries.

                                                            iii.      Thoughts we try to suppress during the day come out in our dreams.

1.        This is also true in waking Consciousness too.

2.        (ex. You are trying not to think about someone, and it leads you to think about them.)

3.        Dreams can incorporate physical stimuli like having water poured on you being interpreted in the dream as rain, water, etc.

4.        Day Residue – Freud idea that contents of waking life spill over into dreams.

7. Culture and Dreams

                                                               i.      Themes in dreams are the same across cultures, but the Content of dreams are different because people have to deal with different things.

8. Theories of Dreaming

                                                               i.      Sigmund Freud

1.        Freud theorized dreams are “Wish Fulfillment”

2.        Manifest Content – The plot of the Dream as surface level.

3.        Latent Content – Hidden and Disguised Meaning of the events in the plot.

                                                              ii.      Rosalind Cartwright

1.        Cartwright theorized dreams are Opportunities to work through everyday Problems and Emotional Issues in waking life.

2.        Sleep Enhances Learning. Giving Credit to Cartwright’s Theory.

                                                            iii.      Hobson & McCarley

1.        Theorized dreams are side effects of Neural-Activation Synthesis. Or just Bursts from the Brain.

2.        Downplays the effect of emotions in Dreams.

5. Hypnosis
   1. Hypnosis – Systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of Suggestibility.

                                                               i.      Some people are more susceptible to Hypnotism than others. Based on Imagination and Absorption as behavioral traits.

2. Hypnotic Phenomena

                                                               i.      Anesthesia – Hypnosis can be used to relieve Pain.

                                                              ii.      Hallucinations – Subjects “see” things that are not there.

                                                            iii.      Disinhibition – Subjects do things that they normally would not do.

                                                            iv.      Posthypnotic Suggestions – Suggestions made during Hypnosis effect a subject’s later behavior.

3. Theories of Hypnosis

                                                               i.      Hypnosis as Role Playing – People are just Role-Playing what it is socially acceptable to be hypnotized.

                                                              ii.      Hypnosis as an Altered State of Consciousness

1.        Ernest Hilgard

2.        Dissociation – Splitting off of Mental Processes into two separate, simultaneous streams of awareness.

3.        Divided Conscious – Is a normal experience such as driving a car, but you don’t remember specific things about it. You just do it.

a.        Hypnosis is the same state of Mind.

6. Meditation
   1. Meditation – Family of Practices that Train Attention to heighten awareness and bring Mental Processes under greater Voluntary Control.
   2. Physiological Effects

                                                               i.      Alpha & Theta Waves become prominent in EEG.

                                                              ii.      Heart Rate, Breathing rate, Skin conductance Decline.

3. Long-Term Benefits

                                                               i.      Lower Level of Stress

                                                              ii.      Improve Mental Health when resisting Addictions

                                                            iii.      Improve One’s Mood, Self-Esteem, and sense of Control.

                                                            iv.      Led to increased Creativity and Intelligence in a Study.

4. Same Effects may be achieved just through Relaxation Techniques.
6. Drugs
   1. Psychoactive Drugs – Chemical substances that modify Mental, Emotional, or Behavioral Functioning.
   2. Drug Types

                                                               i.      Narcotics/Opiates – Drugs derived from Opium that relieves Pain.

1.        Heroin, Morphine.

2.        Who Cares? Attitude.

                                                              ii.      Sedatives – Sleep Inducing drugs that decrease Central Nervous System Activation and Behavioral Activity.

1.        Sleeping Pills, Barbiturates.

2.        Gets rid of Tension or Dejection.

                                                            iii.      Stimulants – Drugs that Increase Central Nervous System activation and Behavioral Activity.

1.        Caffeine, Nicotine, Cocaine, Amphetamines.

2.        “I Can Conquer the World!” attitude.

                                                            iv.      Hallucinogens – Drugs that have powerful effect upon Mental and Emotional Functioning. Causing Distortions in Sensory and Perceptual Experience.

1.        LSD, Mescaline (Shrooms)

2.        Dreamlike “Mystical” experiences. Lead to “Bad Trip.”

                                                             v.      Cannabis – Hemp Plant from which Marijuana, Hashish, and THC are derived.

1.        Marijuana, Hash

2.        Relaxed Euphoria.

                                                            vi.      Alcohol – Beverages containing Ethyl Alcohol.

1.        Beers, Wine, Spirits.

2.        Euphoria, Boosted Self-Esteem, Stress Reliever.

                                                          vii.      MDMA – Compound Drug related to both Amphetamines & Hallucinogens, especially Mescaline.

1.        Ecstasy

2.        Euphoric, friendly, sexual, energetic.

3. Factors Influencing Drug Effects

                                                               i.      Drug Experiences can be affected by many different things along with expectations of the effects of the Drug.

                                                              ii.      Tolerance – Progressive decrease in a person’s responsiveness to a drug.

4. Mechanisms of Drug Action

                                                               i.      Stimulants increase level of Dopamine and Norepinephrine activity.

                                                              ii.      Opiates Bind to Endorphins in the Brain.

                                                            iii.      Cannabis binds to Cannabinoid Receptors in the Brain.

                                                            iv.      Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway – all abused drugs increase activity here.

5. Drug Dependence

                                                               i.      Physical Dependence – When a person must continue to take a Drug to avoid withdrawal illness.

1.        Common with Narcotics, Sedatives, alcohol, and Stimulants.

                                                              ii.      Psychological Dependence – When a Person must continue to take a Drug to satisfy intense Mental and Emotional Craving for the Drug.

1.        Such as in Cocaine.

6. Drugs and Health

                                                               i.      Overdose – Death resulting from taking too much of a Drug.

                                                              ii.      Direct Effects – Drugs effect directly like Lung Cancer, Obesity, etc.

                                                            iii.      Indirect Effects – Drugs cause accidents like Car Crashes, violence, etc.

                                                            iv.      Marijuana

1.        Does not reduce ones Immune Response.

2.        Has little impact upon Male Fertility.

3.        Cannabis temporarily decreases Tester one Levels.

4.        Long Term Abuse does mildly affect memory/attention. But after 1 Month of Abstinence from Drug, subject returns to Normal memory/attention.

                                                             v.      Ecstasy

1.        Not Very Addictive.

2.        Associated with Heart Attack, Depression, and Sleep Disorders.

3.        Effects Memory/Learning.

4.        Not much known about it now.