Ap Psych. Final exam review
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
-Established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany in 1879 -Birth of psychology at Leipzig in 1879 with Wundt and 2 helpers: Reaction time experiment; psychology's 1st experiment -Measure "atoms of the mind"—the fastest and simplest mental processes. -Teacher of Edward Bradford Titchener -Inner sensations, images, and feelings. -Psychology is the science of mental life -Based his research on the scientific method.
natural selection
-From among chance variations, nature selects the traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment. -Shapes behaviors as well as bodies.
William James (1842-1910)
-Functionalist -Focused on evolutionary or adaptive views of behavior. -He tutored Calkins alone. -Engaged in introspective examination of the stream of consciousness and of emotion. -Psychology should explain how people adapted-or failed to adapt-to everyday life outside the laboratory. -Published "The Principles of Psychology" in 1890, Psychology's first textbook.
Max Wertheimer (1880-1943)
-Gestalt psychologist -Argued against dividing human thought and behavior into discrete structures. -Examine a person's total experience (whole experience is often more than the sum of the parts of the experience) -Relevant in the study of Sensation and Perception
counseling psychology
-Help people to cope with challenges and crises (including academic, vocational, and marital issues) and to improve their personal and social functioning. -Administer and interpret tests, provide counseling and therapy, and sometimes conduct basic and applied research.
Ethical Considerations for Animals
-Humane treatment and care -Minimize illness, infection, and pain -Adequate justification for pain -Obtain animals legally -Natural Living Conditions
E.B. Titchener (1867-1927)
-Introduced the early school of structuralism -Aimed to discover the structural elements of mind. -Engage people in self-reflective introspection (looking inward) -Founded the organization of experimental psychologists -Inner sensations, images, and feelings.
Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930)
-James admitted her into his graduate seminar and the other students (all men) dropped out. -James tutored her alone. -She finished requirements for Harvard Ph.D. Harvard denied her the degree, offering her instead a degree from Radcliffe College. She refused the degree. -Distinguished memory researcher and American Psychological Association's (APA's) 1st female president in 1905.
behavioral psychology
-Look strictly at observable behaviors and what reaction organisms get in response to specific behaviors. -Emphasis on environmental influences. Someone working from the behavioral perspective might attempt to determine which external stimuli trigger angry responses or aggressive acts
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
-Pioneer of humanistic psychology with Abraham Maslow -Rebelled against Freudian psychology (psychoanalytic) and behaviorism. -Emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential, and the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied. -Client-centered therapy.
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
-Pioneer of humanistic psychology with Carl Rogers -Rebelled against Freudian psychology (psychoanalytic) and behaviorism. -Emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential, and the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied. -Hierarchy of needs.
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
-Pioneered the study of learning -Behavioral perspective -Classical conditioning When dogs heard the bell, that meant they got food. He taught the dogs to salivate at the sound of the bell even if they didn't get food.
René Descartes (1596-1650)
-Prescientific Psychology -Existence of innate ideas (nature) and mind's being "entirely distinct from body" and able to survive its death. -Human sensations and behaviors were based on activity in the nervous system. -Cartesian Dualism Mind and body are in constant interaction. Essence of the mind is thought. Mind is a substance distinct from the body. Believed only humans have minds.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
-Prescientific Psychology -His ideas led most directly to the view known as empiricism -One of the founders of modern science -Fascinated by the human mind and its failings -Foresaw research findings on our noticing and remembering events that confirm our beliefs
Ethical Considerations for Humans
-Protection from harm/discomfort -Informed consent -Confidentiality -Debriefing -Justify experiment
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) [MAN]
-The last century's most influential observer of children -Described developmental stages of childhood and adolescence -Most famous cognitive psychologist
levels of analysis
-The various ways of observation in psychology -Biological, cognitive, and sociocultural
Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939)
-When Harvard denied Calkins the claim to being psychology's 1st female psychology Ph.D., this woman because the 1st. -Functionalist -Synthesized animal behavior research in The Animal Mind. -2nd female APA president in 1921. -She was barred from joining the organization of experimental psychologists.
Rosalie Rayner (1899-1935)
-Worked with John B. Watson -Demonstrated conditioned responses in a baby who became famous as "Little Albert."
John Locke (1632-1704)
-Wrote An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, in which he famously argued that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa—a "blank slate"—on which experience writes. -This helped form modern empiricism
Goals for Tests of Mental Abilities
1) Benefits from early intervention 2) Intelligence test scores--> Misinterpreted to be measure of worth or potential 3) Intelligence test is important, but practical and emotional intelligence matter too / creativity, talent, character
Debate on Intelligence
1) One aptitude or many? 2) Linked to cognitive speed? 3) Neurologically measurable?
Criticisms of Evolutionary Perspective
1. Starts with and effect and works backward to propose an explanation. 2. Social consequences (genetic determinism) 3. Blurs line between genetics and culture/traditions Evolutionary psychologists respond with: understanding our predispositions can help us overcome them.
Positive Correlation
2 sets of scores tend to rise or fall together
NREM-2
20 min, relaxed, sleep spindles (bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity)
Circadian Rhythm
24-hour cycle/internal biological block ●Morning: Body temp rises ●Afternoon: Increased thinking and memory ●Age/experience can alter this
NREM-3
30 min, deep sleep (delta waves)
Robert Sternberg
5 components of creativity ●Expertise (a well-developed base of knowledge) ●Imaginative thinking skills (see things in novel ways, recognize patterns and make connections) ●A venturesome personality ●Intrinsic motivation ●A creative environment that sparks, supports, and refines creative ideas
self-fulfilling prophecy
A belief that leads to its own fulfillment. EX: They may confirm themselves by influencing the other country to react in ways that seem to justify them.
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (Figure 73.2)
A biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient. Possible seizures, memory loss, or other side effects.
therapeutic alliance
A bond of trust and mutual understanding between a therapist and client, who work together constructively to overcome the client's problem.
outgroup
"Them"—those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.
ingroup
"Us"—people with whom we share a common identity.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
-1859 wrote On the Origin of Species which explained this diversity of life by proposing the evolutionary process of natural selection -Natural selection shapes behaviors + bodies. -Variation + Adaptation + Evolution -Nature vs. Nurture issue
psychiatry
-A medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders -Medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs and otherwise treat physical causes of psychological disorders.
Dorothea Dix (1802-1887)
-A teacher, nurse, humanitarian, and social reformer for the mentally ill -Campaigned across the nation. -Worked to reform American prisons: called the penitentiary movement.
Aristotle (384-322 bc)
-Ancient Greek + Plato's student -Prescientific Psychology -Had a love of data -Focused on logic and systematic observation -Knowledge is not preexisting but grows from the experiences stored in our memories -There is nothing in the mind that does not first come in from the external world through the senses -Placed emphasis on the power of reason
clinical psychology
-Assess & treat mental, emotional, and behavior disorders -Administer and interpret tests, provide counseling and therapy, and sometimes conduct basic and applied research.
The Big Five Personality Factors (Table 58.1) (empirical)
-Conscientiousness -Agreeableness -Neuroticism (emotional stability vs. instability) -Openness -Extraversion
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
-Developed the influential psychoanalytic theory of personality -Emphasized the ways emotional responses to childhood experiences and our unconscious thought processes affect our behavior.
John B. Watson (1878-1958)
-Dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as "the scientific study of observable behavior." -Studied how consequences shape behavior. -Behaviorist -Championed psychology as the science of behavior -Worked with Rayner and demonstrated conditioned responses in a baby who became famous as "Little Albert." -Classical conditioning
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
-Dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as "the scientific study of observable behavior." -Studied how consequences shape behavior. -Behaviorist -Skinner Box
G. Stanley Hall (1846-1924)
-Established the first psychological laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in the 1880s. -Was appointed as the first president of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1892.
Central Sulcus
Divides frontal and parietal lobes.
Lateral Sulcus
Divides temporal and frontal lobes.
Mood-Stabilizing Drugs
Drug used to treat mood disorders characterized by intense and sustained mood shifts, typically bipolar disorder type I / type II or schizophrenia (lithium, depatoke).
Barbiturates (tranquilizers)
Drugs that depress NS activity + impair memory and judgement
Amphetamines
Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes
Controlling Pain
Drugs, surgery, acupuncture, placebo, distractions, etc.
agoraphobia
Fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide-open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic.
David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel
Feature Detectors
Spermarche
First ejaculation in boys (age 14)
Menarche
First menstrual period in girls (age 12.5)
Outer Ear
First part of the ear that reacts with sound.
human factors psychology
Focus on the interaction of people, machines, and physical environments.
Evolutionary Psychology
Focus on what makes humans so alike.
Selective Attention
Focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus. Lose our awareness of time and surroundings. ●Senses take in 11 million info per second--> consciously process 40 ●Accidents: Demanding situation= full attention / Texting & phone= more likely to crash or be distracted
Patient H.M. (Henry Molaison)
For 55 years after having brain surgery to stop severe seizures, he was unable to form new conscious memories (anterograde amnesia).
Repress
Forcibly block from our consciousness.
Axon Terminal / Terminal Branches
Form junctions with other cells.
Neurogenesis
Formation of new neurons (natural promoters= exercise, sleep, stimulating but nonstressful environment).
Cognitive Roots in Prejudice
Forming categories, remembering vivid cases, and believing that the world is just and our own and our culture's ways of doing things are the right ways.
Gender Schema
Framework for organizing boy-girl characteristics.
Psychoanalysis
Freud's theory of personality + associated treatment techniques (unconscious motives)
psychoanalysis
Freud's therapeutic technique in treating psychological disorders. Believed the patient's unconscious / anxious free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences—and the therapist's interpretations of them—released and brought into conscious awareness previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight.
Type A
Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.
Type B
Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people.
Perceiving Loudness
From number of activated hair cells.
Mirror Neurons
Frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation + empathy. (EX: Monkey & ice cream)
Phineas Gage
Frontal lobes were damaged by iron rod. Could sit up and speak but personality changed and he was less inhibited.
Locating Sounds
Sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than the other. Brain analyzes minute different in sounds received by the 2 ears and computers the sound's source.
Self
In contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality and the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, + actions.
Kenneth Clark & Mamie Phipps Clark
In making its historic 1954 school desegregation decision, the US Supreme Court cited the expert testimony and research of these psychologists. These psychologists reported that, when given a choice between black and white dolls, most African-American children chose the white doll, which seemingly indicated internalized anti-Black prejudice.
Behavioral Approach
In personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development (how the environment controls us).
interpretation
In psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight.
resistance
In psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material.
transference
In psychoanalysis, the unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another.
Free Association
In psychoanalysis, this is a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing. Used to retrace line to troubled past.
Perceptual Adaptation
In vision, ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field.
validity effect
Increase in perceived validity when a statement is repeated.
Physical Attractiveness
Increases social opportunities and improves the way we are perceived. Different definition for attraction for each culture- youthful features are universally attractive.
Body Contact
Infants prefer body contact with parents who are soft, warm, rock, feed, and pat than with parents who provide nourishment.
Embodied Cognition
Influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preference and judgements
normative social influence
Influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.
informational social influence
Influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions as reality. What is everyone else doing?
Top-Down Processing
Info processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
Inner Ear
Innermost part of ear containing cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
social anxiety disorder
Intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of such.
Cognitive Neuroscience
Interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (perception, thinking, memory, language). The mind is what the brain does.
personality psychology
Investigating our persistent traits.
Psychological Dependence
Involves emotional-motivational withdrawal symptoms (e.g., a state of unease or dissatisfaction, a reduced capacity to experience pleasure, or anxiety) upon cessation of drug use or engagement in certain behaviors.
Multiple Approach-Avoidance conflict
Involving a choice between two or more options, each of which has both positive and negative aspects.
Pavlov's Experiments
Isolated dog, measured saliva by presenting food. Paired neutral stimuli (NS) with food in the dog's mouth. Dog learned the link between the NS with food and salivated.
representativeness heuristic
Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information.
Synapse
Junction between axon top of sending neuron and dendrite/cell body of receiving neuron. Tiny gap= synaptic cleft
Repolarization
K+ gates open and K+ floods out of the cell. Initially results in hyperpolarization (more negative than the RMP).
Social Intelligence
Know-how involved in successfully comprehending social situations.
Visual Cliff
Lab device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.
Corpus Callosum
Large band of axon fibers connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Allows hemispheres to communicate and carry messages between them.
Delta Waves
Large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
Edward L. Thorndike
Law of Effect
Zajonc-LeDoux theory
LeDoux: ■Complex feelings (love, hatred)= high road ■Simple feelings (likes, dislikes, fears)= low road Both: ■Many of our emotional reactions happen apart from or before cognitive appraisal.
Observational/Social Learning
Learn from others' experiences / learning by observing others
Martin Seligman
Learned helplessness: External locus of control (can't change their situation).
Anxiety
Learning Perspective ■Classical and Operant Conditioning ■Observational Learning ■Cognition Biological Perspective ■Natural Selection ■Genes (twins) ■The Brain
Associative Learning
Learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (classical conditioning) or a response and it consequences (operant conditioning)
Retina
Light-sensitive inner surface of eye, containing receptor rods and cones & layers of neurons that begin processing of visual information. ●Rods and Cones (convert light energy into neural impulses) 1. Light entering eye triggers photo-chemical reaction in rods and cones at back of retina 2. Chemical reaction in turn activates bipolar cells 3. Bipolar cells activate ganglion cells, the axons of which converge to form the optic nerve. O.N. transmits info to visual cortex (via thalamus) in brain
Benjamin Lee Whorf
Linguistic Determinism
Rosalie Rayner
Little Albert experiment
Self-Actualization
Living up to your full potential.
tardive dyskinesia
Long-term use of antipsychotics can cause this, with involuntary movements of the facial muscles, tongue, and limbs.
James Randi
Magician who exemplifies skepticism. He has tested and debunked supposed psychic phenomena.
Experimental Methods (Table 6.3 On Module 6)
Manipulate variables to discover their effects.
infantile amnesia
Many reactions and skills learned during our first three years continue into our adult lives, but we cannot consciously remember learning these associations and skills.
Harry McGurk
McGurk Effect: See one syllable, hear another
Mental Age
Measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance.
EEG
Measures brain waves
Atkinson-Shiffrin (Figure 31.2)
Memory Model- 3 stages to memory formation ●Sensory Memory ●Short-Term/Working Memory ●Long-Term Memory ●Automatic Processing
mnemonics
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
amnesia
Memory loss
Cognition
Mental processes
Cognitive Map
Mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a ______ ___ of it. Needs food to activate it.
Brain-Computer-Interfaces
Microelectrodes can detect thoughts to enable people to control events.
dualism
Mind separate from body
Object Permanence
More than 6-8 months: awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (empirical)
Most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.
Cochlea
Sound waves traveling through cochlear fluid trigger neural impulses in inner ear.
Independent and Dependent Variable Operational Definitions
Specify procedures that manipulate Independent Variable
Factor Analysis
Statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.
Factor Analysis
Statistical procedure used to identify clusters of test items that tap basic components of intelligence.
Edward Chase Tolman
Studied rats in mazes, rats exploring a maze given no rewards seem to develop a cognitive map
IMPORTANT!
Study Tables 59.1 and 59.2
Figure 22.3 (Biopsychosocial- Hypnosis)
Much of our behavior occurs on autopilot / 2-track minds ●B: distinctive brain activity, unconscious info processing ●P: focused attention, expectations, heightened suggestibility, dissociation b/t normal sensations and conscious awareness ●S-C: presence of an authoritative person in legitimate context, role playing "good subject"
mirror-image perceptions
Mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive.
Does correlation/association mean causation/cause-effect?
NO! It indicates the possibility but doesn't prove it.
Limits on OC
Nature sets limits on each species' capacity for operant conditioning. We most easily learn and retain behavior that reflect our biological predispositions and are naturally adaptive (instinctive drift).
Similarity
Nearness or proximity of two mental representations.
Optic Nerve
Nerve that sends neural impulses from eye to visual cortex in the brain via the thalamus.
Volley Principle
Neural cells can alternate firing. Combined frequency= above 1000 waves per second (detects intermediate pitch sounds).
Limbic System
Neural system (including hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, and thalamus) located between the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.
Axon
Neuron extension that passes messages away from cell body thru it's terminal branches to other neurons or muscles/glands.
Interneurons
Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between sensory inputs and motor outputs (have most complexity)
No Correlation
No relationship between the points
Secondary Sex Characteristics
Non-reproductive sexual traits, such as females breasts/hips, male voice quality, and body hair.
Nontaster/Supertaster
Nontaster ●A person with a genetic inability to taste certain substances Supertaster ●A person who experiences the sense of taste with far greater intensity than average. Has a larger amount of taste buds per square mm.
Modern Unconscious Mind
Not as seething passions and repressive censoring, but as cooler information processing that occurs without our awareness. Defense Mechanisms: need to protect self-image. ●Freud's Accepted Ideas: We have limited access to all that goes on in our mind (unconscious), unconscious defense mechanisms, unconsciously defend ourselves against anxiety. ●Problems w/ Freud's Theories: Developmental focus on childhood (so much sex and aggression)? Defense Mechanisms? Falsifiability? Use of case studies?
Frequency
Number of complete wavelengths that can pass a point in a given time & depends on the wavelength.
Frequency
Number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (EX: per sec)
Inferential Statistics
Numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data that probability of something being true of a population. 1. Representative samples are better than biased samples 2. Less-variable observations are more reliable than those that are more variable. 3. More cases are better than fewer
Descriptive Statistics
Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.
Rationalization
Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one's actions.
Self-Efficacy
One's sense of competence and effectiveness.
Genuineness
Open with their own feelings, drop their facades, and are transparent and self-disclosing.
B.F. Skinner
Operant Learning ●Learning principles... -Observation -Association -Imitation -Reinforcement
Opiates
Opium and its derivative, such as morphine and codeine (narcotics) and heroin; depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety. Brain eventually stops producing endorphins, its own opiates
Ewald Hering
Opponent Processing Theory
chunking
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.
Fluid Intelligence
Our ability to reason speedily and abstractedly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.
Crystallized Intelligence
Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.
Consciousness
Our awareness of ourselves and our environment (gives us a reproductive advantage, long-term interests, ability to read others' minds).
Gender Identity
Our sense of being male or female.
language
Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning. More than just vibrating air. ●Phonemes ●Morphemes ●Grammar
serial position effect (Figure 32.9)
Our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect, in working memory) and first items (a primacy effect, which we've spent more time rehearsing) in a list.
Spotlight Effect
Overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders. Fewer people notice than we presume.
SQ3R study skills
Study method: -Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review -Distribute your study time -Learn to think critically -In class, listen actively -Overlearn -Be a smart test-taker
Psychophysics
Study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli, such as intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
educational psychology
Studying influences on teaching and learning.
Predictive Validity
Success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior. (criterion of future performance) (intelligence tests)
Insight Learning
Sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
psychosurgery
Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior.
aerobic exercise
Sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety.
Reaction Formation
Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites.
Normal Curve (Normal Distribution) (Figure 7.3 On Module 7)
Symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near mean (68%; one standard deviation) and fewer and fewer near the extremes
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
Pair of cell clusters in hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythym. In response to light, SCN causes pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness. ●Light: melatonin suppressed ●Night: melatonin produced
hypothalamus
Part of the limbic system, in control of eating behavior (physiological needs for food, water, sex).
Choice Blindness
People are blind to their own choices and preferences.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
People express their inner feelings/interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes. (hope, desires, fears)
kin selection theory (evolutionary perspective)
People tend to try and protect their own relatives over other people because it results in the protection and prolonging of their own genes. It is based on reproduction and the continuation of your own lineage.
External Locus Of Control
People who attribute their success or failure to outside influences.
feel-good, do-good phenomenon
People's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.
Figure-Ground
Perceive any object (figures) as distinct from its surroundings (ground); organization of visual field
Perceptual Constancy (top-down)
Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, brightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.
External Locus of Control
Perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate.
Internal Locus of Control
Perception that you control your own fate (happier, healthier people + achieve more).
Emotion and Motivation (top-down)
Perceptions are also influenced by these.
Projective Test
Personality test, like the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics. (subjective)
borderline personality disorder (BPD)
Pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity (primarily females).
context-dependent memory
Phenomenon of more easily recalling specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.
Parietal Lobes
Physical sensations, reading and written language, general intelligence
Plato & Socrates (428-347 b.c.e.) and (469-399 b.c.e.)
Plato: -Student of Socrates -Teacher of Aristotle -Humans possess innate knowledge: origins of what would later be referred to as the "nature" side of the "nature vs. nurture" debate. Socrates: -Teacher of Plato -Knowledge: awareness of one's own ignorance. -Virtue: focus on self-development, not on accumulating possessions. Both: -Ancient Greeks -Prescientific Psychology -Concluded that mind is separable from body and continues after the body dies, and that knowledge is innate—born within us. -Descartes agreed with them -Dualists (mind separate from body)
cerebellum
Plays a key role in forming and storing the implicit memories created by classical conditioning.
Blind Spot
Point where O.N. leaves the eyes--> no receptor cells are located there.
post-traumatic growth
Positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises.
Hazel Markus
Possible selves: Include your visions of the self you dream of becoming and the self you fear of becoming. Motivate us by laying out specific goals and calling forth the energy to work toward them.
Debriefing
Post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants
Methamphetamine
Powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the CNS, with sped-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels (related to amphetamine)
Normal Curve (Figure 61.2)
Symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68% fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.
IMPORTANT
Table 60.1 (Comparing Theories of Intelligence)
Nervous System
Takes in information from the world / body's tissues, makes decisions, and sends back information and orders to body's tissues
Sleep Apnea
Temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings (snoring; linked to obesity; older adults-men)
REM Rebound
Tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivations (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)
von Restorff effect
Tendency to remember things that "stand out" (this is why textbooks highlight or bold key terms).
Stimulus Generalization
Tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses. Adaptive.
déjà vu
That eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
Social Identity
The "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I" that comes from our group memberships. [like culture, peers]
repression
The action or process of suppressing a thought or desire so that it remains unconscious + protect our self-concept and minimize anxiety.
priming (Figure 32.7)
The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
The application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy through a magnetic coil to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity. No seizures, memory loss, or other side effects.
Mean
The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores. Measure of Central Tendency
Lateralization
The belief that the right and left hemispheres serve different functons.
basal metabolic rate
The body's resting rate of energy expenditure. This drops when there is decreased food intake.
personal space
The buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies.
psychodynamic psychology
The clinical viewpoint emphasizing the understanding of mental disorders in terms of unconscious needs, desires, memories and conflicts Someone working from the psychodynamic perspective might view an outburst as an outlet for unconscious hostility
medical model
The concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.
nature-nurture issue
The controversy over the relative contributions of biology and experience. Do our human traits develop through experience, or are we born with them?
companionate love
The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. Long term and intimate. Enduring predictors: equality and intimate self-disclosure, commitment
Range
The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution (crude estimate of variation). Measure of Variation
culture
The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.
group polarization
The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations/attitudes through discussion within the like-minded group (good or bad effects). Internet communication magnifies this effect. EX: ideological separation (prejudice) + deliberation = polarization
Independent Variable
The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied. (What is changed)
Signal Detection Theory
Predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.
Figure 45.3
Prenatal development: (a) The embryo grows & develops rapidly. At 40 days, spine is visible and the arms and legs are beginning to grow. (b) By the end of the second month, when the fetal period begins, facial features, hands, and feet have formed. (c) As the fetus enters the fourth month, its 3 ounces could fit in the palm of your hand.
biomedical therapy
Prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the person's physiology.
positive transfer
Previously learned information often facilitates our learning of new information.
Higher-Order Conditioning
Procedure where a CS in one conditioned experiment is paired with a new NS, creating a 2nd (often weaker) CR.
Imprinting
Process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early life critical period (Konrad Lorenz).
Identification
Process by which children incorporate their parent' values into their developmental superegos.
Accommodation
Process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
Asleep
Process most info unconsciously
visual encoding
Process of encoding images and visual sensory information. Convert the new info that you stored into mental pictures.
Modeling
Process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.
acoustic encoding
Process of remembering and comprehending something that you hear.
Hippocampus
Processes conscious memories (long term memory storage)
semantic encoding
Processing and encoding of sensory input that has particular meaning or can be applied to a context.
Parallel Processing
Processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; brain's natural mode of info processing for many functions like vision. Contrasts with step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
Upper Eyelid
Protect front of eye from injury and excessive light.
Cornea
Protects eye and bends light to provide focus.
anxiety disorders
Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.
mood disorders
Psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes.
personality disorders
Psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning. Form clusters based on: anxiety, eccentric or odd behaviors, and dramatic or impulsive behaviors.
Punishment vs. Reinforcement
Punishment tells you what not to do; reinforcement tells you what to do
natural killer (NK) cells
Pursue diseased cells (such as those infected by viruses or cancer).
dissociative disorders
Rare disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, identity, and feelings often through a stressful situation.
Frequency Theory
Rate of neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch (detects low pitch sounds).
Spontaneous Recovery
Reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished CR (no additional pairing with a US)
Operant Behavior
Refers to behavior that "operates" on the environment or is controllable by the individual. Is done because it produces some type of consequence (reinforcement/punishment).
Denial
Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities.
Improving Memory
Rehearse repeatedly, make the material meaningful, activate retrieval cues, use mnemonic devices, minimize interference, sleep more, test your own knowledge both to rehearse it and to find out what you don't yet know
Shaping/Successive Approximations
Reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.
Fixed-Interval Schedule
Reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed (rapid responding near time for reinforcement).
Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement
Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement. Types: F-R, V-R, F-I, V-I. Reinforcers are tick marks.
Continuous Reinforcement
Reinforcing desired response every time it occurs (real life--> rare).
Split-Half Reliability
Relating to or denoting a technique of splitting a body of supposedly homogeneous data into two halves and calculating the results separately for each to assess their reliability.
Alpha Waves
Relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
Empirically Derived Test
Relying on information from observation or experimentation like the MMPI.
Manifest Content
Remembered story line of a dream (symbolic version of latent content)
Replication
Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.
Developmental Psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span, with a focus on three major issues: ●Nature and Nurture -Interaction b/t gene combination from mom/dad + experiences -Bio, psych, and social-cultural forces interact ●Continuity and Stages -Experience/learning = slow, continuous development -Biological = developmental stages/steps (everyone passes through the stages in the same order) ●Stability and Change [both are a factor] -Temperament is stable -Cannot predict all our eventual traits based on the early years of life -Changes can occur w/o changing a person's position relative to others of the same age.
Operational Definition
A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. (measures)
unconditional positive regard
A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance (acceptance + genuineness, empathy).
Operant Chamber/Skinner Box
A chamber containing a bar or key that an animal (rat) can manipulate (press) to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking.
flashbulb memory
A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.
halo effect
A cognitive bias in which an observer's overall impression of a person, company, brand, or product influences the observer's feelings and thoughts about that entity's character or properties.
Schema
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
equity
A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.
Approach-Approach conflict
A conflict between two desired gratifications.
Avoidance-Avoidance conflict
A conflict that results when a choice must be made between two undesirable alternatives.
Moriarty Study (beach blanket experiment)
A couple laid down belongings and had a robber pretend to rob them. Nobody stopped the thief. If they say, "hey can you watch my stuff", someone will take responsibility for the thief (diffusion of responsibility).
Intrinsic Motivation
A desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake.
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
A disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience (involves anxiety).
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
A disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions). Interfere with everyday living and cause distress (involves anxiety).
conversion disorder
A disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found.
illness anxiety disorder / hypochondriasis
A disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease.
depersonalization/derealization disorder
A disorder in which a person suddenly feels changed or different in a strange way.
Lucid Dreaming
A dream during which the dreamer is aware of dreaming. They may be able to exert some degree of control over the dream characters, narrative, and environment.
Confounding Variable
A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment.
Sampling Bias
A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample. (statistics vs. biased)
Asch effect
A form of conformity in which a group majority influences individual judgments.
stereotype (Figure 77.6)
A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people. These rationalize inequalities.
Scatterplot
A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter=high correlation)
structuralism
A historical school of psychology devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up mind and thought-sought to find the "elements" of conscious experience
functionalism
A historical school of psychology that believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their evolutionary adaptive purposes and functions
gestalt psychology
A historical school of psychology that sought to understand how the brain works by studying perception and perceptual learning. Believed that percepts consist of meaningful wholes
disinhibition
A lack of restraint manifested in disregard for social conventions, impulsivity, and poor risk assessment (mostly on internet).
polygraph
A machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and breathing changes) accompanying emotion.
recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
recognition
A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.
Test Retest Reliability
A measure of reliability obtained by administering the same test twice over a period of time to a group of individuals. The scores from Time 1 and Time 2 can then be correlated in order to evaluate the test for stability over time.
Correlation
A measure of the extent to which two variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other. Help us predict and uncover naturally occurring relationships.
concept
A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. Simplify our thinking.
Perceptual Set (top-down)
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. Schemas help with this.
Intelligence Test
A method for assessing an individuals mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.
algorithm
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem (laborious). Contrasts with the usually speedier—but also more error-prone—use of heuristics.
altruistic behavior
A mix of what society tells us to do (helping others looks good) but also will give us some benefit and/or lessen a cost. By this perspective, altruism is not totally unselfish.
Antagonist
A molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response.
Agonist
A molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response (mimic neurotransmitter or block reuptake).
echoic memory
A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.
iconic memory
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
bipolar 2 disorder
A mood disorder in which a person alternates between hypomania and depression (no mania ever).
bipolar 1 disorder
A mood disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania from week to week.
major depressive disorder (Table 67.1)
A mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or another medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.
mania
A mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state.
dysthymic disorder (DMDD)
A mood disorder where a person experiences a mildly depressed mood more often than not for at least two years. Symptoms: -Problems regulating appetite -Problems regulating sleep -Low energy -Low self-esteem -Difficult concentrating + making decisions -Feelings of hopelessness
Neuron
A nerve cell; basic building block of the nervous system.
Reuptake
A neurotransmitter reabsorption by the sending neuron (recycle of neurotransmitters).
Reinforcement Schedules
A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.
conflict
A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.
diffusion of responsibility
A person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present. The individual assumes that others either are responsible for taking action or have already done so.
Temperament
A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.
Personality
A person's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
antisocial personality disorder (APD)
A personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist. Reduced activity in the frontal lobe.
sexual dysfunctions
A problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning.
meta-analysis (Figure 72.1)
A procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies.
psychosis
A psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and distorted perceptions.
somatic symptom disorder
A psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause.
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
A psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
A psychological disorder where there are deficits in social communication and social interaction & restricted repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities.
lobotomy
A psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients. The procedure cut the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain.
Light Exposure Therapy
A psychotherapy that gives people a timed daily dose of intense light for hopes of treating depressive symptoms.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
A psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. Trigger eye movements in order for them to unlock and reprocess previously frozen memories.
Personality Inventory
A questionnaire (often with T-F or A-D items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits. (objective--> doesn't guarantee validity)
Mutation
A random error in gene replication that leads to a change (or new gene combos)
Self-Serving Bias
A readiness to perceive oneself favorably.
evolutionary psychology
A relatively new specialty in psychology that sees behavior and mental processes in terms of their genetic adaptations for survival and reproduction Someone working from the evolutionary perspective might analyze how anger facilitated the survival of our ancestors' genes
conduct disorder
A repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated.
Skewed Distribution
A representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value / way-out scores (picture the whale tail). Measure of Central Tendency
Experiment
A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant variables. [isolate cause and effect]
emotion
A response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.
Random Sample
A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion. Picking people from the population
Stereotype Threat
A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. This doesn't fully account for the black-white aptitude score difference.
Scientific Method
A self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis. Hypothesis, experiment, analysis, theory
role (playing)
A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave. May feel phony at first, but that becomes you.
acute stress disorder
A short time period after a traumatic event (weeks) where PTSD is a longer time period after the event (months/years)
heuristic
A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.
social trap (Figure 80.3)
A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior and harm the collective well-being.
Hypnosis
A social interaction in which one person (subject) responds to another person's (hypnotist's) suggestion that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur. It can relieve pain
Dissociation
A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others (patient doesn't feel painful ice bath--> hypnosis dissociates sensation of pain stimulus [of which subjects are still aware] from emotional suffering that defines their experience of pain)
Correlation Coefficient
A statistical index of the relationship b/t two variables (from -1.0 to +1.0). How well either one predicts the other and reveals extent to which 2 things relate. The closer to -1 or +1, the stronger the connection
Statistical Significance
A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance. Observed difference is probably not due to chance variation between samples. Proof means not making much of a finding unless the odds of its occurring by chance are less than 5%. Reliable large difference. Indicates the likelihood that a result will happen by chance. But this does not say anything about the importance of the result.
Discriminative Stimulus
A stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement) / EX: Green traffic light
Conditioned/Secondary Reinforcer
A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power thru its association with a primary reinforcer.
health psychology
A sub-field of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine.
insight
A sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions (in right temporal lobe).
Posthypnotic Suggestions
A suggestion made during a hypnosis session to be carried out after subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms & behaviors
psychological disorder
A syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior. ■Dysfunctional- Gets in the way of normal functioning ■Deviant- Abnormal: Going against society or your own behavior ■Destructive- Causes harm to yourself or others ■Duration of Time
homeostasis
A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level.
confirmation bias
A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.
Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
Multiple Intelligences
A theory of intelligence that differentiates it into specific categories, rather than seeing intelligence as dominated by a single general ability.
Pitch
A tone's exponential highness or lowness; depends on frequency
virtual reality exposure therapy
A type of exposure therapy + anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to electronic simulations of their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking.
mental set
A type of fixation~ a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.
interpersonal psychotherapy
A variation of psychodynamic therapy that concentrates primarily on current relationships (effective in treating depression).
insight therapies
A variety of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person's awareness of underlying motives and defenses.
glucose
The form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.
imagery
The formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively.
sexual response cycle
The four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson—excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.
Amplitude
The height from peak to trough (in decibels).
Priming
The implicit memory effect in which exposure to a stimulus influences response to a later stimulus.
Longitudinal Study
Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.
Id
Reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives/desires. Operates on pleasure principle: demanding immediate gratification. Eat, reproduce, kill--> animalistic.
refractory period
Resolution stage: a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another.
Occipital Lobes
Responsible for vision.
Cones
Retinal receptor cells concentrated near the center of the retina and function in daylight or well-lit conditions. Detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.
Regression
Retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated.
self-disclosure
Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.
Right vs. Left Hemisphere in the Brain
Right Hemisphere ●Perceptual tasks: make inferences, modulate speech, orchestrate sense of self, visual perception + emotion Left Hemisphere ●Speaks, calculates, language 90% of people are right-handed, 10% are left-handed
Iris
Ring of muscle tissue that forms colored portion of eye around the pupil and controls the size of pupil opening.
Biological Constraints on Conditioning
Scientists have assumed that we share common makeup and functioning. Any natural response could be conditioned to any NS. NOT TRUE.
Negative Correlation
Scores relate inversely, one set going up as the other goes down.
Evolutionary Psychology Today
Second Darwinian revolution: Application of evolutionary principles to psychology.
subjective well-being
Self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.
Vestibular Sense
Sense of body movement and position, including sense of balance.
Body Position and Movement/Kinesthesis
Sense of position and movement of body parts.
Dream
Sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. Notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, & for the dreamer's delusional acceptance of the content & later difficulties remembering it
Role
Set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.
social roles
Set of expectations about a social position, defining how you are supposed to behave in that position.
X Chromosome
Sex chromosome found in males and females. Females have 2 X chromosomes, men have 1. An X chromosome from each parent produces a female child.
Y Chromosome
Sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an x-chromosome from the mom, it produces a male child.
estrogens
Sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males and contributing to female sex characteristics.
Empathy
Share and mirror others' feelings and reflect their meanings.
superordinate goals
Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.
Displacement
Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person.
lateral hypothalamus
Signals eating to begin.
ventromedial hypothalamus
Signals to stop eating.
binge eating disorder
Significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting that marks bulimia nervosa.
binge-eating disorder
Significant overeating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without compensatory purging, fasting, or excessive exercise.
Sleep Theories
Sleep evolves 1. Sleep protects 2. Helps us recuperate (repair damaged neurons/tissue) 3. Helps restore/rebuild our fading memories of the day's experiences 4. Feeds creative thinking 5. Supports growth (growth hormone)
social feedback
Social cues that we use to determine our standing in the world around us. We aren't good at judging our own attractiveness so we use social cues from other people to see where we stand on the scale.
ostracism
Social exclusion.
Gender
Socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female.
Myelin Sheath
Some axons are encased in this: a layer of fatty tissue that insulates axons + speeds their impulses.
optimal arousal theory
Some motivated behaviors (such as those driven by curiosity) actually increase/decrease arousal. Motivated to pursue behaviors that are the optimal arousal for you.
Cocktail Party Effect
Ability to attend to only 1 voice among many.
productive language
Ability to produce words.
Depth Perception
Ability to see objects in 3-D although the images that strike the retina are 2-D; allows us to judge distance (partially innate).
receptive language
Ability to understand what is said to and about them (babies).
Gustav Fecher
Absolute Threshold
Gender Typing
Acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.
Cognitive Learning
Acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language
Respondent Behavior
Actions that are automatic responses to a stimulus.
Pupil
Adjustable opening the center of the eye where light enters.
Positive Punishment
Administer aversive stimulus
Teratogens
Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.
humanistic therapy
Aims to boost people's self-fulfillment by helping them grow in self-awareness and self-acceptance.
Beta Waves
Alert, waking state
Neural Communication
All animals' nervous systems and brains operate similarly.
Cognition
All mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
Self-Concept
All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"
cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating + processing information and problem-solving.
Population
All those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn.
Near-Death Experience
Altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations. [mood influences these effects]
Intensity
Amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness/loudness--> determined by wave's amplitude.
generalized anxiety disorder
An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually and uncontrollably tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.
specific phobia
An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.
panic disorder
An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations. Often followed by worry over a possible next attack (panic attack is a feature of this).
eclectic approach
An approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client's problems, combines techniques from various forms of psychotherapy.
passionate love
An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship. The strong feelings are usually short term, and often mature into companionate love.
hierarchies (Figure 31.9)
An arrangement of memories according to importance.
bulimia nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.
anorexia nervosa
An eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) diets and becomes significantly (15 percent or more) underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.
anorexia nervosa
An eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly (15 percent or more) underweight for fear of being fat.
bulimia nervosa
An eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) with purging (by vomiting or laxative use) or fasting.
intuition
An effortless, immediate, unreasoned, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning. ●Processing complex info unconsciously helps us to be smart about our decisions ●Usually adaptive ●Recognition born of experience ●As people gain expertise, they grow adept at making quick, shrewd judgments.
sexual orientation
An enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual) or the other sex (heterosexual).
social-responsibility norm
An expectation that people will help those needing their help; others who cannot give as much as they receive.
reciprocity norm
An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them. We give about as much as we receive.
Double-Blind Procedure
An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies. Researchers eventually find out.
Theory
An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.
anterograde amnesia
An inability to form new (explicit) memories. Learning: do all these things with no awareness of having learned them.
retrograde amnesia
An inability to retrieve information from one's past.
fixation
An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective.
long-term potentiation (LTP)
An increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Also, increased sensitivity for detecting presence of NT molecules released by the sending neuron. More connections exist between neurons. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and remembering associations.
Primary Reinforcer
An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfied a biological need (unlearned).
behavioral medicine
An interdisciplinary field that integrates behavior and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to health and disease.
token economy
An operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats.
Gestalt
An organized whole. These psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. -In perception, the whole may exceed the sum of its parts -Our brain does more than register information about the world
social norms
An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior in members of a culture. Norms prescribe "proper" behavior in a certain setting.
Case Study
Analyses of special individuals. A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. Individual cases can suggest fruitful ideas + describes behavior. Study of one particular specialized person, not representative
Bottom-Up Processing
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory info--> higher levels of processing.
Stimulus
Any event or situation that evokes a response
Aggression
Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.
Preconscious
Area we can retrieve thoughts into conscious awareness.
Association Areas
Areas of cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking. Interpret, integrate, and act on sensory information and link it with stored memories. -Found in all 4 lobes -Prefrontal cortex -Phineas Gage -Also math + spatial reasoning, recognizing faces, acquisition/development/use of language
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
As yet unproven health care treatments intended to supplement (complement) or serve as alternatives to conventional medicine, and which typically are not widely taught in medical schools, used in hospitals, or reimbursed by insurance companies. When research shows a therapy to be safe and effective, it usually then becomes part of accepted medical practice.
Surveys and Interviews
Asking people questions. Looks at many cases in less depth; technique for ascertaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group, usually by questioning a random sample Can get a lot of info, small amount of time spent with participants, people can lie, all about interpretation of ?
Achievement Tests
Assesses what a person has learned.
Random Assignment
Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups. Controls for possible confounding variables. Experiment only
Correlational Methods (Table 6.3 On Module 6)
Associate different factors, or variables.
ethnocentrism
Assuming the superiority of one's ethnic group. An example of prejudice.
Motion Perception
Assumption that shrinking objects are retreating and enlarging objects are approaching. Large objects appear to move more slowly than small ones.
Fixation
At any point in these stages, strong conflict could _______ the person's pleasure-seeking energies in that stage.
Pruning Process
At puberty, used neural connections strengthen, and unused neural pathways weaken.
Emotion-Focused Coping
Attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding/ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction.
Problem-Focused Coping
Attempting to alleviate stress directly- by changing the stressor or way we interact with that stressor.
Acceptance (Unconditional Positive Regard)
Attitude of total acceptance and support of another person. Non-judgemental: values us even knowing our failings.
Attitudes Affect Actions
Attitudes are especially likely to affect behavior when external influences are minimal, and when the attitude is stable, specific to the behavior, and easily recalled.
Temporal Lobes
Auditory areas (hearing): each receive information from the opposite ear, memory, understanding speech
nondeclarative (procedural) memory
Automatic memory system for motor and cognitive skills and classically conditioned associations.
Reflex
Automatic responses to stimuli. Ex: Hand jerks away from flame before the brain receives and responds to info that causes you to feel pain.
Taste Aversion
Avoiding food from now on based on a bad experience with it.
Middle Ear
Chamber between eardrum and cochlea containing malleus, incus, and stapes that concentrate vibrations of eardrum on cochlea's oval window.
Trait
Characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.
Psychoactive Drugs
Chemical substances that alter perceptions
Psychosexual Stages
Childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones.
Theory of Mind
Children enable empathy and ability to infer + imitate anothers' mental state. Brain activity underlies our intensely social nature.
Parenting or Temperament (Nature)?
Children's anxiety over separation from parents peaks at 13 months, then gradually declines.
Ivan Pavlov
Classical Conditioning--> dog saliva
evidence-based practice
Clinical decision making that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and patient characteristics and preferences.
rehearsal
Cognitive process in which information is repeated consciously over and over as a possible way of learning and remembering it.
David Rosenhan
Complained (with 7 others) to a hospital of "hearing voices". Apart from this complaint and giving false names and occupations, they answered questions truthfully. All eight normal people were misdiagnosed with disorders.
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
Complex molecule containing genetic info that makes up the chromosomes.
Addiction
Compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors despite known adverse consequences
rumination
Compulsive fretting; overthinking about our problems and their causes.
Intelligence
Concept of success in one's own time and culture + the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.
Intellectual Disability
Condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life.
Down Syndrome
Condition of mild to severe Intellectual Disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.
Split Brain
Condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's 2 hemispheres by cutting the fibers (corpus callosum) connecting them.
3 Layers of the Mind
Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious
biopsychosocial approach
Considers the influences of biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors
Peace
Contact, cooperation, communication, and conciliation help promote peace.
Nucleus
Contains genetic master code for the body.
Nucleus
Contains the genetic material in the form of chromosomes.
Substance Use Disorder
Continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruptions and/or physical risk.
Broca's area
Controls language expression—an area in the left frontal lobe that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
Wernicke's Area
Controls language reception—a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.
Somatic Nervous System
Controls the voluntary movement of the body's skeletal muscles + the things you think about doing (all the info coming in thru your senses).
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret. ●Receive sensory stimulation, often using specialized receptor cells. ●Transform that stimulation into neural impulses. ●Deliver the neural info to our brain.
social script
Culturally modeled guides for the social roles and norms of various situations.
Social Clock
Culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
Collectivist Culture
Culture based on valuing the needs of group over individual (China).
Individualist Culture
Culture that focuses on the individual, oriented with the self (USA, Australia, Canada).
factitious disorder
Deceives others by appearing sick, by purposely getting sick, or by self-injury.
Habituation
Decreasing response to a stimulus (form of learning)
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Standardization
Defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.
Effects of Sleep Loss
Depression, fatness, suppress immune cells, increases errors on visual attention tasks, fatigue, irritability, bad concentation+productivity+memory+performance
Monocular Cues
Depth cues available to either eye alone (only 1 eye). ●Relative motion -Objects in front move backward -Farther an object from fixation point = faster it seems to move
Binocular Cues
Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of 2 eyes.
Descriptive Methods (Table 6.3 On Module 6)
Describe behaviors, often by using case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations.
Rorschach Inkblot Test
Designed by Hermann Rorschach, a set of 10 inkblots; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots. (most widely used, but discredited)
Extrinsic Motivation
Desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment. (promising people a reward for a task they enjoy can backfire / overuse of bribes= overjustification)
Retaining Information in the Brain
Despite the brain's vast storage capacity, we do not store information in discrete, precise locations. Instead, many parts of the brain interact as we encode, store, and retrieve the information that forms our memories.
David Wechsler
Developed the most widely used individual intelligence test called the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS).
Life-Span Perspective
Development is lifelong.
Cochlear Implant
Device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea (restore hearing)
diffusion of responsibility
Dilution or weakening of each group member's obligation to act when responsibility is perceived to be shared with all group members.
Hue
Dimension of color that is determined by wavelength of light.
Sensory Adaptation
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. -Our eyes are always moving unconsciously -Freedom to focus on informative changes in our environment without being distracted by background chatter.
Tolerance/Neuroadaptation
Diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect.
Pinna
Directs sound waves down auditory canal and collects sound.
Withdrawal
Discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing an addictive drug or behavior
Paul Broca and Carl Wernicke
Discovered specialized language brain areas called Broca's Area and Wernicke's Area.
Projection
Disguising one's own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.
Ernst Hilgard
Dissociation (painful ice bath--> patients don't feel pain)
Wavelength
Distance from peak of one light or sound-wave to the peak of the next (in hertz). E.M. wavelengths vary from short blips of cosmic rays to long pulses of radio transmission.... determines its hue. ●Short Wavelength= high frequency (bluish colors; high-pitched sounds) ●Long Wavelength= low frequency (reddish colors; low-pitched sounds) ●Great Amplitude (bright colors; loud sounds) ●Small Amplitude (dull colors; quiet sounds)
Median
The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it. Measure of Central Tendency
Difference Threshold
The minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience this as a just noticeable difference (jnd). Increases with the size of the stimulus
Absolute Threshold
The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
groupthink
The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.
Mode
The most frequently occurring scores in a distribution. Measure of Central Tendency
testosterone
The most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.
Dependent Variable
The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable; effect of one or more I.V. on some measurable behavior. (What is measured)
Illusory Correlation
The perception of a relationship where none exists. When we notice random coincidences, we may forget that they are random and instead see them as correlated. We can easily deceive ourselves by seeing what is not there.
Connectedness
The perception of uniform or linked spots, lines, or areas as a single unit.
relative deprivation
The perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves.
memory
The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
resilience
The personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma.
mere exposure effect
The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them. For our ancestors, this had survival value.
set point
The point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly set. A biologically fixed tendency to maintain an optimum weight.
The Power of Individuals
The power of the individual and the power of the situation interact. When you are the minority, you are far more likely to sway the majority if you hold firmly to your position and don't waffle.
frustration-aggression principle
The principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression. Other aversive stimuli can also evoke hostility (environment can induce aggression--> heat, pain, insults, odors)
Yerkes-Dodson law
The principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point (moderate), beyond which performance decreases.
introspection
The process of reporting one's own conscious mental experiences
storage
The process of retaining encoded information over time.
parallel processing
The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
biological psychology
The psychological perspective that searches for the cause of behavior in the functioning of genes, the brain and nervous system and endocrine system -Natural selection of adaptive traits -Genetic predispositions responding to environment -Brain mechanisms -Hormonal influences Someone working from a biological perspective might study brain circuits that cause us to be "red in the face" and "hot under the collar," or how heredity and experience influence our individual differences in temperament.
developmental psychology
The psychology perspective emphasizing changes that occur across the lifespan.
social-cultural psychology
The psychology perspective emphasizing the importance of social interaction, social learning and a cultural perspective. How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures. -Presence of others -Cultural, societal, and family expectations -Peer and other group influences -Compelling models (such as in the media)
long-term memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences (for later retrieval).
psychology
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and emotional state
syntax
The set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences. You can convey meaning even if this is wrong.
semantics
The set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds based on background knowledge.
one-word stage
The stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words (holographic).
psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
The study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health.
psychopharmacology
The study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior (most widely used).
Random Selection
The subjects are randomly chosen to be a part of the experiment so people have an equal chance of being in the experiment or not. The picking of participants is not biased.
bystander effect (Figure 80.2)
The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present vs. when by themselves.
spacing effect
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
regression toward the mean
The tendency for extreme or unusual scores/emotions to fall back (regress) toward their average.
just-world phenomenon
The tendency for people (who have money, power, and prestige) to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
foot-in-the-door phenomenon
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request (negative or positive).
facial feedback effect
The tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.
overconfidence (Figure 35.5)
The tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.
Hindsight Bias
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.
ingroup bias
The tendency to favor our own group.
other-race effect
The tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races.
behaviorism
The theory that human and animal behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior patterns. Someone working from the behavioral perspective might attempt to determine which external stimuli trigger angry responses or aggressive acts.
social exchange theory
The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs (for our own self-interest).
scapegoat theory/principle
The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame. Used as a tool for protecting our emotional well-being.
Menopause
The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to biological changes a woman experiences as her abiliyu to reproduce declines (around 50).
empiricism
The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation
framing
The way an issue is posed; can significantly affect decisions and judgments. Frame risks as numbers, not percentages.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Used a beeper to sample the daily experiences of American teens. Found them unhappiest when alone and happiest when with friends.
Tympanic Membrane
Vibrates when hit by sound waves and passes vibrations to middle ear.
Psychodynamic Theories
View our behavior as emerging from the interaction b/t conscious and unconscious mind, including associated motives and conflicts.
Behaviorism
View that psychology 1) should be and objective science that 2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with 1 but not 2.
connectionism
Views memories as products of interconnected neural networks.
Naturalistic Observation
Watching and recording the natural behavior of many individuals. Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation. Describes behavior. Perspective, no control
Hans Eysenck & Sybil Eysenck
We can reduce many of our normal individual variations to 2-3 dimensions, including extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability. These factors are genetically influenced. Created Eysenck personality inventory (empirical)
Closure
We fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object.
Proximity
We group nearby figures together. We see not six separate lines, but three sets of two lines.
Social Learning Theory
We learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.
social learning theory (Bandura)
We learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.
Continuity
We perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones.
reward theory of attraction
We will like those whose behavior is rewarding to us, and we will continue relationships that offer more rewards than costs.
Ernst Weber
Weber's Law
Conception
When a woman's ovary releases a mature egg. Sperm release digestive enzymes that eat away egg's protective coating. They then fuse. ●Woman: Eggs= from birth ●Men: Sperm= from puberty
insufficient justification effect
When an individual utilizes internal motivation to justify a behavior.
Synaptic Changes
When learning occurs, we release more NT into certain synapses. The synapses then become more efficient at transmitting signals.
proactive interference
When prior learning disrupts your recall of new information (forward-acting).
Approach-Avoidance conflict
When there is one goal or event that has both positive and negative effects or characteristics that make the goal appealing and unappealing simultaneously.
Cross-Sectional Study
Where people of different ages are compared with one another.
Personal Control
Whether we learn to see ourselves as controlling, or as controlled by, our environment.
linguistic determinism
Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think. Different languages embody different ways of thinking.
Stanford-Binet
Widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test [nature]
Sigmund Freud
Wish-fulfillment dream theory
Negative Punishment
Withdraw rewarding stimulus
Medial Rectus Muscle
Works to keep the pupil closer to the midline of the body.
materialism
You are your stuff
Neo-Freudians
Young, ambitious physicians who formed an inner circle around Freud / pioneering psychoanalysts / accepted Freud's basic ideas. Soon broke off.
The Stimulus Input: Light Energy
What strikes out eyes is pulses of electromagnetic (E.M.) energy that our visual system perceives as a color. Visible light is a thin slice of the spectrum of E.E. Different animals perceive differently.
John Garcia
●Challenged idea that any natural response can be conditioned to any NS and tested this theory using classical conditioning ●Rats love sweetwater, and they began to avoid it after it was poisoned. Sickened rats experienced taste aversion ●US: poison, UR: sickness, CS: sweetwater, CR: sickness Other Findings: ●Even if sickened as late as several hours after tasting a particular flavor, the rats thereafter avoided that flavor. This appeared to violate the notion that for conditioning to occur, the US must immediately follow the CS. ●The sickened rats developed aversions to tastes but not to sights or sounds.
Smell/Olfaction
●Chemical sense: molecules sent to receptor cells (embedded on surface of nasal cavity neurons) in the nasal cavity (respond selectively)--> olfactory nerve--> olfactory bulb--> thalamus--> smell cortex in temporal lobe--> limbic system (memory, emotion) ●No distinct receptor for each detectable odor (combination) ●Attractiveness of smell depends on learned associations (memory). ●Only sense not routed in thalamus
belief perseverence
●Clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited. ●A remedy for this is to consider how we might have explained an opposite result.
Amos Tversky
●Cognitive & mathematical psychologist and a figure in the discovery of systematic human cognitive bias and handling of risk. ●Focused on the psychology of prediction and probability judgment ●Worked with Kahneman to develop prospect theory, which aims to explain irrational human economic choices
Leon Festinger
●Cognitive dissonance theory -Insufficient justification effect
Carol Gilligan
●Complains about the male centered psychology of Freud, Erikson, and Kohlberg ●Struggle of children to create an individual identity describes males more than females ●Females: Like making connections (interdependent) / small groups / face-to-face conversation / caring -Women are not inferior in moral thinking ●Changes in the stages: fueled by changes in the sense of self ●Today: her stage theories are discredited; say that men and women don't differ in their moral reasoning STAGES OF THE ETHIC OF CARE ●Preconventional: no age; goal is individual survival -Transition is from selfishness -- to -- responsibility to others ●Conventional: no age; self sacrifice is goodness -Transition is from goodness -- to -- truth that she is a person too ●Postconventional: maybe never; principle of nonviolence--> do not hurt others or self
Genome
●Complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosome (our common genetic profile). ●Common sequence within human DNA ●Many genes act together -Our genetic predispositions help explain both our shared human nature and our human diversity.
obedience
●Compliance with commands given by an authority figure ●Highest when we are receiving orders from an authority figure, the research was legitimate, the victim was at a distance, and there were no role models for defiance.
Solomon Asch
●Conformity ●Devised a simple test: participants believed it was a study of visual perception -The group was asked which line is more identical to a standard line. If people (accomplices of the experimenter) give the wrong answer, the others will conform and answer the same. ●Asch effect
Stability of Intelligence over Life Span (Figure 62.3, 62.4) [Dynamics of Intelligence]
●Consistency of scores over time increase with age of child (starting at age 4, and by 11= stable) ●More intelligent children/adults live healthier and longer.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
●Consists of the brain and spinal cord ●Body's decision maker ●Brain: Thinking, feeling, acting; neurons communicating ●Neural networks: Cluster of neutrons into a work group -Neurons network with nearby neurons where they can have short, fast, connections.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
●Contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests ●Includes: similarities, vocab, block design, and letter-number sequencing ●Scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and processing
Autonomic Nervous System
●Controls our glands and the muscles of our internal organs--> influences functions like glandular activity, heartbeat, and digestion (involuntary, self-regulating) ●Consists of the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic NS
Restored Vision and Sensory Restriction
●Could distinguish figure from ground and sense colors (innate) but couldn't visually recognize objects that were familiar by touch--> happens with blind from birth ●Critical period for normal sensory/perceptual development
Cerebral Cortex
●Covers the hemispheres of the brain ●A thin surface layer of interconnected neural cells ●Control and info-processing center ●Wrinkles ●Brain hemispheres are filled with axons connecting this to brain's other regions. ●Our mental experience arises from coordinated brain activity
Gender Role
●Culture shapes these (nurture) ●Set of expected behavior for males or females
Feature Detectors
●David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel ●Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific feautures of stimulus like shape/angle/movement. -Receive info from individual ganglion cells in the retina. Pass info to other cortical areas where supercell clusters respond to more complex patterns. -Face-perception is different from object-perception (specific)
Walter Mischel
●Delay gratification: know there will be something better in the future ●Leads to better academic performace
Gordon Allport
●Described personality in terms of fundamental traits ●One of the founding figures of personality psychology ●Concerned less with explaining individual traits than with describing them
Identical (monozygotic) Twins
●Develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in 2 (don't always have same number of copies of DNA, most share a placenta) ●Same genes (genetically identical)
Fraternal (dizygotic) Twins
●Develop from separate fertilized eggs. Genetically no closer than brothers/sisters, but share a fetal environment. ●Different genes
Motor Development
●Developing brain enables physical coordination ●Motor development sequence is universal / maturing nervous system but individual difference in timing (sitting, standing, walking) ●Genes guide motor development
Symbolic Thinking
●Develops early ●Representing things with words and images
Adulthood: Social Development
●Difference b/t young and old adults: significant life events ●Adulthood's Ages and Stages -Middle Adulthood: Life is behind them *Trigger of midlife crisis= major event / life events trigger transitions to new life stages at varying ages. *Social Clock *Chance Events
Death and Dying
●Difficult separation from spouse ●When death is natural, grieving = short-lived ●When death is sudden, grieving = severe ●Reactions differ with culture (not predictable stages) ●Strong expressions of emotion may not purge grief, and bereavement therapy is not significantly more effective than grieving without such aid. ●Integrity: One's life has been meaningful (vs. despair)
Extinction
●Diminishing of a CR; occurs in CC when an US doesn't follow a CS; occurs in OC when a response is no longer reinforced ●If the CS occurs repeatedly without a US ●Suppresses the CR rather than eliminating it
Alcohol
●Disinhibitor (slows brain activity that controls judgment and inhibition) ●Slowed neural processing in sympathetic NS ●Shrinks the brain ●Suppresses REM sleep ●Memory Disruption ●Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism): alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawl, and a drive to continue problematic use. ●Reduced Self-Awareness and Self-Control ●Expectancy Effects
Oedipus Complex
●During phallic stage ●Boys develop both unconscious sexual desires for their mother and jealousy and hatred for their father, whom they consider a rival. ●Boys experience guilt + lurking fear of punishment, maybe castration, from dad.
Brain Maturation and Infant Memory
●Earliest memories: > 3.5 years old (infantile amnesia) ●Mature: capable of remembering experiences. Brain areas with memory mature. ● < 3.5: Brain was processing and storing information ●What the conscious mind doesn't know and can't express in words, the nervous system somehow remembers.
Adulthood
●Early Adulthood (20-30) ●Middle Adulthood (30-65) ●Late Adulthood (65-death)
Attachment
●Emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation. ●Early attachments form the foundation for adult relationships and motivation.
deep processing
●Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention. ●The amount remembered depends both on the time spent learning and on your making it meaningful for ______ ______________.
effortful processing
●Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. ●This can become automatic ●Explicit memories ●Rehearsal, spacing effect, serial-position effect, chunking
Aging and Intelligence (Figure 62.1)
●Phase I: Cross-Sectional Evidence for Intellectual Decline (test and compare people of different ages) (older adults give less correct answers on intelligence tests than younger adults, but it was tested on people of different eras.) ●Phase II: Longitudinal Evidence for Intellectual Stability (cohort: a group of people from a given time period) (until late in life, intelligence remained stable) ●Phase III: It All Depends (Longitudinal Studies: those who survive to the end of studies may be bright and healthy) (intelligence is not a single trait) -Crystallized Intelligence: Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age -Fluid Intelligence: Our ability to reason speedily and abstractedly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.
Concrete Operational Stage
●From 6,7--> 11 years ●Stage of cognitive development where children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events (+ mathematical transformations and conservation) ●Cannot reason abstractly or test hypotheses systematically.
Sensorimotor Stage
●From birth--> 2 years ●Where infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impression and motor activities ●Object permanance
Reflections on Nature and Nurture
●Gender differences have diminished ●We are the product of nature and nature (Figure 15.1--> Biopsychosocial), but are also an open system. The stream of causation that shapes the future runs through our present choices. ●Everything psychological is simultaneously biological. The human brain gives rise to consciousness. Mind and brain is a holistic system (brain creates and controls the emergent mind, which in turn influences the brain).
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
●Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children causes by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head + abnormal facial features. ●Epigenetic effect
Instinct Theory (evolutionary perspective/genetics)
●Genes (inherited traits) influence aggression (twin studies + breeding animals for aggression) ●The Y-Chromosome is a genetic marker in violent individuals. ●Evolutionary advantage to be aggressive towards others- you continue to live and have reproductive success.
Experience and Brain Development
●Genes dictate brain architecture, but experience fills in the details. Early experiences: enriched environment = heavier and thick brain cortex. ●Pruning Process ●Brain's development doesn't end with childhood
Biological vs. Adoptive Relatives
●Genetic relatives= biological parents and siblings ●Environmental relatives= adoptive parents and siblings ●Adoptees are more similar to biological parents than adoptive parents (no environmental effect mostly, stability of personality suggests a genetic predisposition)
Chromosomes
●Get 23 by mom, 23 by dad (coiled chain of DNA) ●2 strands of DNA connected in a double helix
Endocrine System
●Glands secrete chemical messengers called hormones which travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues, including the brain (influence interest in sex, food, and aggression--> in brain) ●Both the ES and the NS produce molecules that act on receptors elsewhere. ●ES= slow, effect lasts long / NS= fast, effect is short
GRIT
●Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension‑Reduction ●One side announces its recognition of mutual interests and its intent to reduce tensions. It then initiates small, conciliatory acts. Opens the door for reciprocity by the other party.
Collectivism
●Group identifications provide a sense of belonging, a set of values, a network of caring individuals, and an assurance of security. (Table 59.3) ●Reflect what they presume others feel ●Polite, humility, respect
STD's
●HIV causes AIDS ●HPV ●Safe-sex practices (condoms) help prevent these ●Intercourse varies from culture to culture.
Savant Syndrome
●Helped with Howard Gardner's research ●Condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.
Pons
●Helps coordinate movements. ●Bridge between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain. ●Sleeping, dreaming
Young-Helmholtc Trichromatic (3-Color) Theory
●Herman von Helmholtz ●Retina contains 3 different color receptors (cones) - one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue - which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perceptions of any color.
Place Theory
●Hermann von Helmholtz ●Links pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated. ●Detects high pitch sounds
Accommodation
●How we use + adjust schemas ●Adjust our schemas to incorporate information provided by new experiences.
Assimilation
●How we use + adjust schemas ●Interpret new experiences in terms of out current understandings, or schemas.
Carl Rogers
●Humanistic psychologist ●Person-Centered Therapy ●People are basically good ●Self-Concept: A person's individual perception of oneself across multiple dimensions (Who am I?) ●"Growth-promoting Climate": "Core Conditions" ~ genuineness, acceptance (unconditional positive regard), empathy ●Self-Esteem: Person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his/her own self-worth (a continuum)
Abraham Maslow
●Humanistic psychologist ●Studied healthy and creative people ●Hierarchy of needs: have earlier, more important needs (Bottom) 1. Physiological needs 2. Safety needs 3. Belongingness and love needs 4. Self-Esteem needs 5. Self-Actualization needs (living up to potential) 6. Self-Transcendence needs (find meaning/identity beyond self)
Immediate and Delayed Reinforcers
●Immediate= immediate payback, repeat rewarded behavior ●Delayed= delay gratification, rat won't press level, humans respond to these
aphasia
●Impairment of language, usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding). ●Can result from damage to any of several cortical areas.
social facilitation
●Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. ●Social inhibition: On tougher tasks, people perform worse when others are present. -This arousal strengthens our most likely response: correct on easy, incorrect on difficult.
Acquisition
●In CC, the initial stage, when one links a NS and an US so that the NS begins triggering the CR. In OC, the strengthening of a reinforced response (NS+US=CR) ●Occurs most readily when NS is presented just b4 a US ●Adaptive ●Conditioning doesn't happen when the NS follows the US ●Conditioning helps animals survive/reproduce ●Higher-order conditioning
Intimacy
●In Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood. ●Can be sexual or not sexual
How Much Credit or Blame Do Parents Deserve?
●In personality measures, shared environmental influences from the womb onward typically account of < 10% of children's differences ●Peer influence is more prominent -We seek to fit in with our groups and are influenced by them. Selection effect: Kids seek out peers with similar attitudes and interests -As we grow older, we form identities and pull away from parents / adolescence = growing peer influence -Heredity: temperament, personality / peers: the rest ●Parents and peers= complementary -Positive parent-teen relations = positive peer relations
Brain Development
●In the womb, developing brain formed nerve cells at 1/4 million per minute ●Developing brain cortex overproduces neurons ●From infancy on, brain and mind (neural hardware and cognitive software- develop together) [heredity + experience] ●Brain is immature at birth. Maturation= neural networks grow more complex. ●Frontal lobes (rational planning) than association areas (thinking, memory, language) develop
confabulation/misinformation effect
●Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event and forming false memories. ●Repeatedly imagining nonexistent actions and events can create false memories.
Positive Reinforcement
●Increasing behavior by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response. Can coincide with - reinforcement. ●EX: Pet a dog that comes when you call it, pay the person who paints your house
Negative Reinforcement
●Increasing behavior by stopping/reducing negative stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. NOT PUNISHMENT. Can coincide with + reinforcement. ●EX: Take painkillers to end pain, fasten seat belt to end loud beeping
Self-Concept
●Infancy's major social achievement: attachment ●Childhood's major social achievement: positive sense of self ●Around Age 12: Self-Concept= All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?" (8-10 year: stable) (self-awareness)
Stranger Anxiety
●Infants prefer their caregivers ●8 months: Stranger anxiety (fear of strangers that infants commonly display) ●Brain, mind, and social-emotional behavior develop together
Splitting the Brain
●Information from the left half of the vision field goes to the right hemisphere. ●Information from the right half of the vision field goes to the left hemisphere (which controls speech).
Depressants
●Inhibit neurotransmitters ●Drugs (alcohol, barbiturates [tranquilizers], opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
*Serotonin
●Inhibitory ●Mood and emotional states / Hunger regulation of sleep and wakefulness (arousal) ●Effect of Deficit: Depression + Other mood disorders ●Effect of Surplus: Autism
*Endorphins
●Inhibitory ●Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain perception and positive emotions. ●Effect of Deficit: Pain ●Effect of Surplus: Body may not give adequate warning about pain + artificial highs
*Dopamine (DA)
●Inhibitory ●Pleasurable sensations involved in voluntary movement, attention, learning, and emotion ●Effect of Deficit: Parkinson's disease ●Effect of Surplus: Schizophrenia + Addictive Behaviors (Drug Addiction)
GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)
●Inhibitory ●Works together with glutamate ●Helps to offset excitatory messages and regulate daily sleep-wake cycles ●Effect of Deficit: Seizures, tremors, nausea, anxiety, insomnia ●Effect of Surplus: Sleeping/Eating disorders
Reticular Formation (RAS)
●Inside the brainstem between the ears ●Neurons network that extends from the spinal cord to the thalamus. Filters/prioritizes incoming stimuli and relays important information to other brain areas. ●Enables arousal (attention, awareness)
Wolfgang Köhler
●Insight with a chimpanzee ●Placed fruit and a long stick outside cage. Placed a short stick inside cage which the chimp used to try and reach the fruit. Suddenly, he grabbed the short stick and used it to pull in the longer stick- which he then used to reach the fruit.
Reciprocal Determinism
●Interacting influence of behavior, internal cognition, and environment (person-environment) ●(Fig. 59.1 Triangle and Fig. 59.2)
Adulthood's Commitments
●Intimacy + generativity (love + work) -Love: similar interests, emotional support, honesty *Marriage bonds (commitment) *Cohabit: high rates of divorce / less commitment to successful marriage + less marriage supporting *Conflict + affection (varying) *Love bears children (have equitable relationship) -Work: Fit your interests + gives you a sense of competence and accomplishment / sense of identity
Discerning True and False Memories
●It is nearly impossible to sift suggested ideas out of the larger pool of real memories. ●How people feel today tends to be how they recall they have always felt. ●Young children's eyewitness descriptions are often not reliable: but can be reliable if questioned in neutral words they understand ●The most common response to a traumatic experience is not banishment of it into the unconscious. Rather, they are typically etched on the mind as vivid, persistent, haunting memories
Ego
●Largely conscious "executive" part of personality that mediates among demands of id, superego, and reality. ●Operates on reality principle: Satisfying id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. ●Struggles to reconcile id and superego. ●Origin of consciousness
Martin Seligman
●Learned Helplessness ●Dogs couldn't escape shocks with a harness. Later, with no harness, dogs were shocked but chose not to escape.
Conditioned response (CR)
●Learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS). ●Salivating to tone
Cerebrum
●Left and right hemispheres of the brain (brain as a whole) ●Perceiving, thinking, and speaking
Touch
●Localization depends on relative lengths of pathways from stimulated parts of the brain. ●Mix of distinct skin sense of pressure (can combine to produce "hot"), warmth, cold, and pain. Most sensitive to unexpected stimulation.
Physical Dependence
●Physiological state of adaptation to a substance, the absence of which produces symptoms and signs of withdrawal ●Possible to be ________ __________ on a drug without being addicted to it ●The result of physical changes in the brain
Martin Seligman
●Positive Psychology ●Scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive. ●Positive well-being, health, neuroscience, and education ●Learned Helplessness
Cocaine
●Powerful and addictive stimulant, derived from coca plant, producing temporary increased alertness and euphoria (then a crash) ●Depression, suspiciousness, convulsions, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure
Alfred Binet
●Predicting school achievement ●Children with special needs ●All children follow same course of intelligence develpoment but some develop more rapidly. Measure each child's mental age. ●Nurture
Aptitude Tests
●Predicts a person's future performance (aptitude= capacity to learn) ●Aptitude and intelligence tests correlate
Developmental Periods
●Prenatal Period: In the womb ●Neonatal Period: Birth-1 month ●Infancy: 1 month- 18/24 months
Dual Processing
●Principle that, beneath the surface, unconscious info processing occurs simultaneously with consciousness on many parallel tracks (much of our brain work occurs out of sight). ●Perception, memory, thinking, language, and attitudes operate on two levels. ●The brain is ahead of the mind.
Sensation
●Process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment (work together w/ perception). ●Brain doesn't directly receive stimuli from the outside world.
Learning
●Process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors. ●We learn by association / feed our habitual behaviors ●Not maturation ●Decisions/changes in behavior ●Not just decision-making ●Used in future experience ●Not surgery
Perception
●Process of organizing and interpreting sensory info, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events (work together w/ sensation). ●Our brain constructs our perceptions
Extremes of Intelligence (Gifted, disabled, savant, down syndrome)
●Low Extreme: -Intellectual Disability -Comparable limitation in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual skills, social skills, and practical skills. -Savant Syndrome -Down Syndrome ●High Extreme: -Healthy, well-adjusted, academic -School "tracks" these children & separates them from other students. Self-fulfilling: live up to or down to others' perceptions and expectations. Widens the gap b/t low and high intelligence.
THC
●Major ingredient in marijuana; triggers variety of effects, including mild hallucinations ●Amplify sensitivity to the senses / relax or euphoric high / slow movements ●Lingers in body--> less tolerance ●Disinihibition, euphoria, relaxation, relief from pain, anxiety, depression, memory issues
Pavlov's Legacy
●Many other responses to many other stimuli can be classically conditioned in many other organisms. ●Showed us how a process (learning) can be studied objectively.
relearning
●Measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again. ●Tests of recognition and ________ demonstrate that we remember more than we can recall.
explicit memories
●Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" (semantic and declarative memories) ●Frontal lobes and hippocampus
An Evolutionary Explanation of Human Sexuality
●Men and women have adapted in similar ways. ●Gender differences in sexuality: Men are more sex-driven and have a greater sexual assertiveness.
Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.)
●Mental age/chronological age x 100 ●Worked well with children but not adults ●Terman: Intelligence tests would result in curtailing reproduction of the feeblemindedness ●About culture--> important
Hallucinogens
●Mimick neurotransmitter ●Psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD and THC, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in absence of sensory input.
Causes of Teen Pregnancy
●Minimal communication about birth control ●Guilt related to sexual activity ●Alcohol use ●Mass media norms of unprotected promiscuity Help with sexual restraint: ●High intelligence, religious engagement, father presence, participation in service learning programs
Heritability
●Proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on range of population and environment studies. ●Percent of variants among traits within a group of people that can be attributed to genetic dif.
Sigmund Freud
●Psychoanalytic theory about how personality develops= stage theory ●"The healthy adult is one who can love and work."
Genital
●Puberty on ●Maturation of sexual interests
Observational Learning/Media Models for Violence (Figure 78.2)
●Observing an aggressive role model ●Viewing sexual violence contributes to greater aggression toward women. -Pornography: interpret that their partners enjoy being forced into certain situations due to the videos they watch. ●Playing violent video games increases aggressive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. -Repeatedly viewing on-screen violence teaches us social scripts.
central route persuasion
●Occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. ●Offers evidence and arguments that aim to trigger favorable thoughts. Occurs mostly when people are naturally analytical or involved in the issue. ●More durable and likely to influence behavior.
peripheral route persuasion
●Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness, and make snap judgments. ●Doesn't engage systematic thinking, but does produce fast results (not lasting or invested in decision)
G. Stanley Hall
●One of the 1st psychologists to describe adolescence. ●The tension between biological maturity and social dependence creates a period of "storm and stress" -Not supported by research
Self-Esteem
●One's feelings of high or low self-worth ●Good follows doing well
Angular Gyrus
●Only in left hemisphere (in parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes) ●Functions: Language, number processing, spatial cognition, memory retrieval, attention, theory of mind, reading words on a page
Broca's Area
●Only in left hemisphere in frontal lobe ●Named by Paul Broca, has to do with speech production and language processing.
Wernicke's Area
●Only in left hemisphere in temporal lobe ●Named by Carl Wernicke, has to do with understanding spoken language (language comprehension)
What We Dream
●Ordinary events, most having misfortune ●Not many people dream of sexual content ●Most dreams in REM sleep ●Our 2-track mind is also monitoring our environment while we sleep. Sensory stimuli can be converted into a dream ●Don't remembered recorded info while we are asleep
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
●Originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an US, comes to trigger a CR ●Tone
Consciousness
●Our awareness of ourselves and our environment ●States: sleep, awake, altered states -Spontaneously: Daydreaminng, drowsiness, dreaming -Physiologically Induced: Hallucinations, orgasms, food or oxygen starvation -Psychologically Induced: Sensory deprivation, hypnosis, meditation
Person-Situation Controversy
●Our behavior is influenced by interaction of our inner dispositions with our environment. ●Consistent vs. changing personality? ●Average behavior is predictable
amygdala
●Our emotions trigger stress hormones that provoke the __________ to imitate a memory trace in frontal lobes & basal ganglia + to boost activity in brain's memory-forming areas ●Emotion-related memory formation ●Emotional arousal can sear certain events into the brain, while disrupting memory for neutral events
Identity
●Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles. ●Try out different roles
automatic mimicry/chameleon effect
●Our tendency to unconsciously imitate others' expressions, postures, and voice tones ●A form of conformity ●Helps us to empathize—to feel what others are feeling (mood linkage)
Placenta
●Outer cells of embryo ●Life-link that transfers nutrients/oxygen from mom to embryo. ●Screens out many harmful substances, but some (like teratogens) slip by.
Thalamus
●Pair of egg-shaped structures and located on top of the brainstem ●Brain's sensory control center ●Receives and directs sensory signals to correct sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
Diana Baumrind
●Parenting Styles -Authoritarian: impose rules + expect obedience (totalitarian) -Permissive: submit to children's desires -Authoritative: both demanding and responsive (rules + open to reasons)
Lewis Terman
●Paris developed questions and age norms worked poorly with California schoolchildren. ●Extended Binet's test range from teens to "superior adults" ●The Stanford-Binet ●Nature (The innate IQ)
John B. Watson
●Pavlov's work provided a basis for his idea that human behaviors are mainly conditioned responses (behaviorism) ●Little Albert experiment
Heritability of Intelligence (Figure 63.1, 63.2)
●People who share the same genes (twins + siblings) share mental abilities ●Heritability ●Environment can also affect intelligence scores. ●Mental similarities b/t adopted children and adoptive family wanes with age (become more like their biological parents) (heritability of g increases from childhood to adulthood) ●Intelligence is polygenetic
Color/Brightness Constancy
●Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object. ●We see color thanks to brain's comprehension of the light reflected by an object relative to the objects surrounding it (context). ●Ex: a sheet of white paper seen in bright sunlight reflects a different amount of light in a dimly lit room. ●Comparisons govern our perceptions.
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
●Perception without sensation ●Controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy (mind-mind communication), clairvoyance (perceiving remote events), and precognition (perceiving future events). ●Psychokinesis: Mind over matter
Grouping
●Perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups. ●Proximity, continuity, closure, similarity, connectedness
Emerging Adulthood
●Period from late teens to mid-20s, bridging the gap b/t adolescent dependence and full independence/ responsible adulthood ●Sexual Maturity ●Finish school, leave home, financially independent, marry, have children ●Later independence = earlier sexual maturity (transition from adolescence to adulthood is taking longer)
Refractory Period
●Period of inactivity after a neuron has fired. (neuron pumps 3 Na+ outside and 2 K+ inside--> Na+/K+ pump) ●Neuron can't fire again, no matter how strong the stimulus.
Sleep
●Periodic, natural loss of consciousness- as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hiberation (starts with NREM-1) (unaware when it begins) ●When parts of the brain's cortex stop communicating. Sleeping brain= active and has its own biological rhythym
REM Sleep
●Rapid eye movement sleep; recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (paralysis) (except for minor twiches) but other body systems are active ●Body is more aroused during this than NREM ●REM increases & deep sleep diminishes as night progresses ●Similar to NREM1 sleep ●10 minute cycles--> 100 min total a night ●Motor cortex=active, but brainstem blocks its messages; cannot easily be awakened
Insomnia
●Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep ●Taking sleeping pills/alcohol--> tolerance (increased doses are need to produce an effect)
Reinforcement (Operant conditioning model)
●Reinforcement can help in dealing with aggression; repeatedly modeling kind behavior helps teach children to deal with situations in a gentle or kind manner. ●If aggressive behavior is rewarded/reinforced, aggressive behavior will continue.
Variable-Ratio Schedules
●Reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses (higher rates). ●Ratio= response/reinforce ●More consistent responding
Variable-Interval Schedules
●Reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals (more frequent). ●More consistent responding
Fixed-Ratio Schedule
●Reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses (higher rates). ●Ratio= Response/reinforce
Ecstasy (MDMA)
●Releases stored serotonin and blocks its reuptake. Prolongs serotonin's feel-good flood. Euphoria/intimacy. Mild hallucinagen ●Suppresses immune system, memory, thought, sleep; dehydration
Religious Beliefs and Morality
●Religious Beliefs: More likely to be altruistic if your religious group preaches it. ●Morality: Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong behavior.
Superego
●Represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgements (conscience) and for future aspirations ●Moral compass + ideal ●Being ashamed/guilt ●Oppose Id's demands ●Internalized rules in society ●Most of this is preconscious
implicit memories
●Retention independent of conscious recollection (procedural memory). ●Include procedural memory for automatic skills and classically conditioned associations among stimuli. ●Cerebellum and basal ganglia
Philip Zimbardo
●Role-playing: situations win ●Stanford prison experiment: -Male college students volunteered to spend time in a simulated prison. Some were assigned to be guards, others prisoners. For a day or two, the volunteers consciously "played" their roles. Then, most guards became cruel. The prisoners broke down, rebelled, or became passively resigned. After 6 days, experiment was called off.
False Consensus Effect
●Roy Baumeister ●Tendency to overestimate extent to which others share our beliefs/behaviors.
Semicircular Canals/Vestibular Sacs
●SC: Biological gyroscope / directional balance ●VS: Contain fluid that moves when the head moves
Day Care
●Safe, healthy, stimulating environment ●More time spend in day care: higher aggressiveness and defiance
Taste (Gustation)
●Salty, sour, sweet, bitter, umami (determined by receptors inside taste buds) ●Pleasurable tastes attracted ancestors to foods that enabled their survival. ●Taste is a chemical sense (taste receptors) / expectations can influence taste.
Well-Being Across the Life Span
●Satisfaction or regret / hope or dread ●Increased sense of identity, confidence, and self-esteem ●Life satisfaction decreases as death approaches -However, life satisfaction is unrelated to age ●Increased happiness as you get older / positive emotions increase and negative emotions decrease after midlife ●Figure 54.5: Biopsychosocial influences on successful aging
Positive Psychology
●Scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive. ●Positive well-being, health, neuroscience, and education
Lesion
●Scientists can selectively _______ (tissue destruction) tiny clusters of brain cells, leaving surrounding tissue unharmed. ●Brain _______: naturally/experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.
Adrenal Glands
●Secrete epinephrine and norepinephrine ●Increase heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar & slow digestion ●Fight-or-flight energy
Robert Rosenthal
●Self-Fulfilling Prophecy ●Pygmalion Effect in the Classroom -If teachers were led to expect enhanced performance from children, then the children's performance was enhanced and vice versa.
Audition / The Ear
●Sense or act of hearing ●Nerves transfer the signal to the brain. ●Path of vibrating air into nerve impulses: Sound waves across ears--> outer ear--> auditory canal--> vibrates eardrum --> malleus, incus, stapes--> oval window absorbs pressure waves--> cochlea--> ripples in basilar membrane--> bend hair cells--> impulses go to auditory nerve--> thalamus--> auditory cortex in the brain
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
●Sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body ●Gathers info and transmits CNS decisions to other body parts ●Consists of the Somatic and Autonomic NS
(Somato)sensory Cortex
●Sensory function ●Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes sensations of physical senses ●The more sensitive the body region, the larger the somatosensory cortex devoted to it (sensory homunculus)
Auditory Cortex
●Sensory function ●Process sounds you hear (listening, hearing) ●In temporal lobes ●Auditory information associated with activity on the brain's opposite side
Visual Cortex
●Sensory function ●Perceiving visual content ●In occipital lobes
Threshold
●Signals= excitatory (increased charge of neurons) or inhibitory (decreased charge of neurons) ●If excitatory signals exceed inhibitory signals by a minimum intensity called this (minimum level of stimulation/charge required to trigger a neural impulse) then an action potential is triggered.
Gene-Environment Interaction
●Similarity in humans: adaptive capacity ●Genes and environment work together (they interact) / Genes= self-regulating -Environment triggers gene activity and genetical traits evoke significant responses in others -Growing older, we select environment well suited to our natures.
Medulla (Oblongata)
●Slight swelling at the base of the brainstem; controls involuntary functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing.
Albert Bandura
●Social Cognitive Theory: Behavior is influenced by interaction between people's traits and their social context. ●Reciprocal Determinism: Why we don't always act according to our personality traits (Fig. 59.1 Triangle). ●Chance Events -EX: Book editor came to his lecture and married the woman who sat next to him.
Albert Bandura
●Social-Cognitive Theory: Behavior is influenced by interaction between people's traits and their social context. ●Reciprocal Determinism: Why we don't always act according to our personality traits (Fig. 59.1 Triangle) ●Self-Efficacy: Ability to get stuff done
Decibels
●Sound is measured in this ●0= absolute threshold ●Increasing 10 decibels is a tenfold increase in intensity
The Stimulus Input
●Sound waves (molecules of air; bands of compressed and expanded ear) / ears detect brief air pressure changes. -Amplitude of SW determines loudness -Frequency determines pitch Long waves = low freq. = low pitch Short waves = high freq. = high pitch
Hermann Ebbinghaus
●Spacing effect ●Learn meaningful material ●Retention curve: Found that the more times he practiced a list of nonsense syllables on day 1, the fewer repetitions he required to relearn on day 2 (picture). ●Forgetting curve: Course of forgetting is initially rapid, then levels off w/ time (Figure 33.2)
Gate-Control Theory
●Spinal cord has a neural gate that can block incoming pain. ●Spinal cord contains a neurological gate that blocks or allows pain signals to pass to the brain. Gate is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by the activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
Jean Piaget (Table 47.1)
●Stage theory on cognitive development ●Studied when you become conscious + children's cognitive development. ●A child's mind develops through a series of stages ●The driving force behind our intellectual progression = an unceasing struggle to make sense of our experiences. ●Children= little scientists ●Maturing brain builds schemas ●Assimilation and Accommodation ●Stages: -Sensorimotor (object permanence) -Preoperational (conservation, symbolic thinking, egocentrism, theory of mind) -Concrete operational (conservation) -Formal operational
Erik Erikson (Table 52.1)
●Stage theory on psychosocial development ●Securely attached children approach life with a sense of basic trust ●Each stage of life has its own psychosocial task (crisis that needs resolution) / search for identity ●Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development: -Infancy; birth--> 1yr; trust vs. mistrust; needs met (hope) -Toddlerhood; 1yr--> 3yr; autonomy vs. shame & doubt; exercise will + do things themselves (will power) -Preschool; 3yr--> 6yr; initiative vs. guilt (purpose) -Elementary School; 6yr--> puberty; competence vs. inferiority; apply themselves or feel inferior (competency) -Adolescence; teen--> 20yr; identity vs. role confusion (fidelity) -Young Adulthood; 20yr--> 40yr; intimacy vs. isolation (love) -Middle Adulthood; 40yr--> 60yr; generativity vs. stagnation; contribute to world or lack of purpose (care) -Late Adulthood; 60yr--> death; integrity vs. despair; reflect on life= satisfaction or failure (wisdom)
Stimulants
●Stimulate neurotransmitters ●Excite neural activity and speed up body functions ●EX: caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine, meth, ecstasy
Nicotine
●Stimulating psychoactive drug in tobacco (cigarettes) / one of the most addictive ●In 7 seconds, signals the CNS to release a flood of NT. Epinephrine and norepinephrine diminish appetite and boost alertness and mental efficiency. Dopamine and opioids calm anxiety and reduce sensitivity to pain
retrieval cues
●Stimuli that help you retrieve a certain memory. ●The best _________ _____ come from associations we form at the time we encode a memory- smells, tastes, and sights that can evoke our memory of the associated person or event
Unconditioned stimulus (US/UCS)
●Stimulus that unconditionally/automatically triggers a UR. ●Food in mouth
Mary Ainsworth
●Studied attachment differences (temperament and parenting) ●Strange situation experiment (observed mother-infant pairs at home during the first 6m, then observed 1 yr olds in a strange situation [mother leaves the room--> how babies react to their return]) -60% showed secure attachment: mothers presence = comfortable; sensitive mothers -Some showed insecure attachment: anxiety + cling to mother + avoidant + anxious/ambivalent; insenstive mothers
Harry & Margaret Harlow
●Studied body contact ●Showed that infant monkeys were more attatched to a cloth mother than a wire mother with nourishment ●Cloth mother= secure base where infant monkey fed from nourishing mother.
Konrad Lorenz
●Studied imprinting ●Children don't imprint but do become attached during a sensitive period.
Biological Psychologists
●Study links between biological activity and psychological events. -Body is composed of cells -Nerve cells conduct electricity to one another by sending chemical messages across a tiny gap that separates them -Specific brain systems serve specific functions -We integrate information processed in these different brain systems to construct our experience of sights/sounds, meanings/memories, pain/passion. -Our adaptive brain is wired by experience. -We are a system composed of subsystems. (biopsychosocial)
Epigenetics
●Study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change (molecular mechanisms). ●Epigenetic mark: Organic methyl molecule attached to part of a DNA strand. Instructs cell to ignore any gene present in that DNA segment, thereby preventing the DNA from producing the proteins coded by that gene (from conception onward). ●NATURE VIA NURTURE
Parapsychology
●Study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis ●Researchers have been unable to replicate ESP under controlled conditions
social psychology
●Study the social influences that explain why the same person will act differently in different situations. ●Focus on how we think about, influence, and relate to one another in the situation.
Phrenology
●Studying bumps on the skull to reveal a person's mental abilities and character traits (localization of function: various brain regions have particular functions) ●Discredited
Molecular Genetics
●Subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes (specific genes). ●Find some of the many genes that together orchestrate traits such as body weight, sexual orientation, and extraversion.
Musafar Sherif
●Superordinate Goals ●Robber's Cave Study: separated boys into two separate camp areas and had them compete for prizes. Each group became proud of themselves and hostile to the other group. Sherif gave them superordinate goals, and they all became friends.
Glial Cells
●Support nerve cells, provide nutrients and insulating myelin, guide neural connections, mop up ions/neurotransmitters. ●Involved in learning and thinking
7 Senses
●Taste, touch/tactile, sight, sound, smell (external) ●Balance/vestibular, kinesthetic/body position (internal)
fMRI (functional MRI)
●Technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. ●Shows brain function / functional scan ●Investigate the brain mechanisms underlying psychological phenomena.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
●Technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. ●Shows brain anatomy / structural scan ●Gives information about the structures in the body.
creativity
●The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas. ●Correlates somewhat with intelligence, but beyond an intelligence test score of 120, that correlation dwindles. ●Intelligence & this engage different brain areas.
The Tools of Discovery: Having Our Head Examined
●The body's right side is wired to brain's left, and vice versa. ●Scientists can stimulate parts of the brain.
sensory memory
●The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system. ●Iconic and Echoic Memory
deindividuation
●The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. -We become more responsive to the group experience—bad or good.
Brainstem
●The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; responsible for autonomic survival functions (respiration, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, awareness, consciousness) ●Where most nerves to and from each side of brain connect with the body's opposite side.
Natural Selection
●The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. 1. Compete for survival 2. Increased reproduction and survival chances in certain environments. 3. Pass on genes 4. Population characteristics change
retrieval
●The process of getting information out of memory storage. ●Recall, Recognition, Relearning, Context-dependent memories
misattribution of arousal
●The process whereby people make a mistake in assuming what is causing them to feel aroused. ●Aron's Bridge Study: If the guy took the more rickety and higher bridge, he felt more aroused toward the girl.
encoding
●The processing of information into the memory system (getting info into our brain) ●Automatic and Effortful Processing
fundamental attribution error
●The tendency for observers, when analyzing others' behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personality. ●When we explain our own behavior, we are sensitive to how our behavior changes with the situation.
social loafing
●The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable. ●Causes: -People acting as part of a group feel less accountable -Members may view their contributions as dispensable -When members share equally in the benefits, some may slack off
cognitive dissonance theory
●The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes to be more like our actions. ●Insufficient justification effect
attribution theory
●The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition. ●Our social behavior arises from our social cognition.
Charles Spearman
●Theory of general intelligence (g) ●A basic intelligence predicts our abilities in varied academic areas. ●Strength: Different abilities, such as verbal and spatial, do have some tendency to correlate. Those who score high in one area typically score higher in other areas. ●Weakness: Human abilities are too diverse to be encapsulated by a single general intelligence factor.
L.L. Thurstone
●Theory of primary mental abilities ●56 different tests that measured clusters of: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory ●Was against Spearman, but his experiments kind of proved Spearman's theory of g: those who excelled in 1/7 usually scored well in others. ●Strength: A single g score is not as informative as scores for seven primary mental abilities. ●Weakness: Even Thurstone's seven mental abilities show a tendency to cluster, suggesting an underlying g factor.
Why Do We Forget? (Figure 33.1)
●To discard the clutter of useless or out-of-date information. -We can't remember what we have not encoded. -Stored memories/physical trace decay -We can't retrieve the memories (Figure 33.4) ●When Do We Forget? (Figure 33.6)
Natural Selection and Adaptation
●Traits that are selected (naturally or otherwise) confer a reproductive advantage on an individual or a species and will prevail. ●Humans can adapt to environments / Fitness: ability to survive and reproduce.
Elizabeth Loftus
●Two groups of people watched film of a traffic accident. Asked, "About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" they gave higher speed estimates than the video. A week later, these people were likely to report seeing glass fragments when there were none. ●Memory construction: misinformation effect
Operant Conditioning (OC)
●Type of conditioning ●Associate a response (behavior) and its consequences ●Behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher ●Involves operant behaviors
Classical Conditioning (CC)
●Type of conditioning ●Ivan Pavlov: One learns to link 2 or more stimuli and anticipate events. ●Involves respondent behavior
automatic processing
●Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings. ●Some information slips into long-term memory via a "back door," ●Implicit memories
Narcolepsy
●Uncontrollable sleep attacks; sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times ●Absence of producing orexin, neurotransmitter linked to alertness
Unconditioned response (UR/UCR)
●Unlearned, naturally occurring response to a US ●Salivating to food
Heritability
●Using twin and adoption studies, behavior geneticists can mathematically estimate the _________ (proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The _________ of a trait may vary, depending on range of population and environment studied) of a trait. ●Can't say x% was from ____________, y% was from environment (heritable individual differences don't imply heritable group differences. Explains why some people are taller, but not why they are taller than people from a century ago).
Brian Damage
●Usually severed neurons don't regenerate (brain functions are preassigned to specific areas) -However, tissue can reorganize or reassign--> If one hemisphere is damaged, the other can pick up its functions.
Isabel Briggs Myers & mom Katharine Briggs
●Wanted to describe important personality differences ●Jugian psychology ●Made Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, an introspective self-report questionnaire designed to indicate psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. ●"Absence of proven scientific worth" (too general) ●Non-empirical
Francis Galton
●Wanted to measure human traits ●"Natural ability" and encourage those of high ability to mate ●"Intellectual Strengths" ●Simple intelligence measure ●1884: Experiment where he failed to measure this: no outscore or correlation ●Nature
Variation Across Cultures
●We hardly notice culture when we act it out. When we try going against it, we feel it. ●Cultures evolve over time (differ across time and space).
Adulthood: Cognitive Development
●We remember some things well (teens, 20s) / early adulthood is a peak time for some types of learning and remembering / recalling new info (esp. meaningless) decreases, but recognized info is stable. -Increasing of people's capacity to learn + remember skills decreases less than verbal recall. ●Intelligence -Cross-sectional studies -Longitudinal studies -Terminal decline: decrease in cognitive abilities in the near-death drop
Culture and Child Raising
●Western: independence ●Asians/Africans: Emotional closeness/family self
state/mood-dependent memory
●What we learn in one state may be more easily recalled when we are again in that state. ●When we are in a certain mood, we recall events pertaining to that same mood
Depolarization
●When a neuron fires, Na+ gates open and Na+ floods inside the cell called this. Keeps causing axon channels to open. ●Different sections of the axon become positively charged and push the charge across the axon.
Neurotransmitter
●When an action potential reaches terminals, it triggers the release of these (chemical messengers that cross synaptic clefts between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, they travel across synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse). ●Ions flow in--> excite or inhibit an action potential. ●Produced inside the body
retroactive interference
●When new learning disrupts recall of old information (backward-acting) ●Information presented in the hour before sleep is protected from this (Figure 33.5)
Humanistic Psychology
●When you are close to your ideal self, you are close to self-actualization (perceived vs. ideal vs. real self) ●Focuses on the ways people strive for self-determination and self-realization / through people's own self-reported experiences and feelings. ●Looks at whole person ●Accept who we are ●View of yourself is continually changing/growth process ●Bad: downplays human cruelty, concepts are vague and emotional
Deprivation of Attachment
●Withdrawn, frightened, speechless/resilient, attachment problems ●Abuse-breeds-abuse phenomenon
Language Development (Figure 36.1)
●Words learned b/t ages 1-18: 60,000 ●All children follow the same sequence ●Statistical Learning: Human infants display a remarkable ability to learn statistical aspects of human speech. ●Critical Period for learning language: childhood ●In processing language, as in other forms of information processing, the brain operates by dividing its mental functions—speaking, perceiving, thinking, remembering—into sub-functions. ●We often think in images (better to spend your fantasy time planning how to get somewhere than to dwell on the imagined destination)
Implications for Parenting and Teaching
●Young children are incapable of adult logic. ●Build on what they already know; they are adaptive.
Herman von Helmholtz
●Young-Helmholtc Trichromatic (3-Color) Theory ●Place Theory
Similarity
●___________ of attitudes, interests, and physical features greatly increases liking, especially as relationships develop. ●We like those who like us. ●Opposites retract. ●At first, people will look at physical appearances, then personality.
tend-and-befriend
■A biobehavioral response to stress characterized by behaviors that protect offspring from harm and affiliating with others to reduce risk. ■Mostly women.
motivation
■A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior. ■Arises from the interplay between nature (the bodily "push") and nurture (the "pulls" from our thought processes and culture). -Table 37.1: Motivational Theories
schizophrenia
■A psychological disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disturbed perceptions, disorganized thinking + speech, and/or diminished or inappropriate emotional expression. ■Not split/multiple personality ■Symptoms: + is presence of inappropriate behaviors, - is absence of appropriate behaviors ■Chronic= slow-developing (no recovery), acute= rapid (recovery)
dissociative identity disorder (DID) / MPD
■A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities that control their behavior. ■Debate -Real -Desperate efforts to detach from a horrific existence -Emotionally vulnerable people + constructed by therapist-patient interaction
aversive conditioning (Figure 71.1)
■A type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol). ■Substituting a negative (aversive) response for a positive response to a harmful stimulus.
cognitive-behavioral therapy
■Aaron Beck ■A popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior). Act out new ways of thinking and talking in their daily life. ■Behavioral change, then cognitive ■Works top-down on frontal lobe activity
hierarchy of needs
■Abraham Maslow ■Pyramid of human needs: physiological needs must first be satisfied before higher-level needs become active. Top= Self-transendence (meaning and identity beyond the self)
rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)
■Albert Ellis ■A confrontational cognitive therapy that vigorously challenges people's illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions.
macrophage
■Big eater ■Identifies, pursues, and ingests harmful invaders and worn-out cells.
Biopsychosocial- Emotion
■Biological -Physiological arousal, evolutionary adaptiveness, brain pathways, spillover effect ■Psychological -Cognitive labeling, gender differences ■Social-cultural -Expressiveness, presence of others, cultural expectations
client-centered therapy
■Carl Rogers- Reject diagnostic labels ■A humanistic therapy in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within an unconditional positive regard environment to facilitate clients' growth. ■Focuses on conscious self-perceptions + present/future
affiliation need
■Deep need to belong/connect with others. ■Being with groups may have had survival value for our ancestors.
antidepressant drugs (Figure 73.1)
■Drugs that relieve symptoms of depressive disorders. ■Molecules are mostly agonists. ■SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) ■Work bottom-up on limbic system
antianxiety drugs
■Drugs used to control anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and agitation. ■Depress CNS activity. ■Can be physically and psychologically addictive.
antipsychotic drugs
■Drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder. ■Molecules are mostly antagonists that block dopamine activity. ■Side effects: tardive dyskinesia, increased risk of obesity and diabetes
Therapeutic Lifestyle Change
■Figure 73.4 ■Treat depression: More sleep, time outdoors, light exposure, more exercise, social connections, anti-rumination, nutritional supplements,
instinct/evolutionary theory
■Focuses on genetically predisposed behaviors/biology (Charles Darwin). -Instinct: A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.
Body Chemistry and the Brain
■Hypothalamus monitors levels of appetite hormones -Insulin: Hormone secreted by pancreas; controls blood glucose -Ghrelin: Hormone secreted by empty stomach; hunger signals to brain -Orexin: Hormone secreted by hypothalamus; hunger-triggering -Leptin: Protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when abundant, causes brain to increase metabolism + decrease hunger -PYY: Hormone secreted by digestive tract; sends not-hunger signals to brain
catharsis
■In psychology, the idea that "releasing" or "venting' aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges. ■Often makes one angrier (deal with anger in a positive way).
systematic desensitization
■Joseph Wolpe ■A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli (anxiety hierarchy). Commonly used to treat phobias. ■Substituting a positive (relaxed) response for a negative (fearful) response to a harmless stimulus--> replacement thepry
transactional theory
■Key factors in stress are appraisal and coping efforts. -Cognitive reappraisal: The process by which potentially stressful events are constantly reevaluated.
psychophysiological illness
■Literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches. -Stress doesn't make us sick, but it does alter our immune functioning, which leaves us less able to resist infection (AIDS, cancer).
adaptation-level phenomenon
■Our tendency to form judgments relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience. ■If our current condition improves (like income), we feel an initial surge of pleasure, come to consider this new normal, and we require something more to give us more happiness.
general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
■Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, exhaustion. -Alarm: mobilize resources -Resistance: cope with stressor -Exhaustion: reserves depleted
DSM 5
■The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders. ■Describe a disorder, predict its future course, imply appropriate treatment, and stimulate research into its causes. ■Standardized
coronary heart disease
■The clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries. -Linked with Type A people -Figure 44.4
drive-reduction theory
■The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need. ■Arises from homeostasis.
dissociative amnesia
■The person's conscious awareness dissociates (become separated) from painful memories, thoughts, and feelings. ■Fugue (flight from home and assumption of a new identity, with amnesia for past identity and events) is a qualifier for this.
stress
■The process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging. -Stressors= catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily hassles.
Cannon-Bard theory
■The theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion. ■Arousal (physiological responses) and emotion occur simultaneously.
James-Lange theory
■The theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli. ■Arousal (physiological responses) comes before emotion.
Schacter-Singer/two-factor theory
■The theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal. -Arousal fuels emotion; cognition directs it. ■Spillover effect -A stirred-up state can be experienced as one emotion or another, depending on how we interpret and label it.
incentive theory
■The theory that you are motivated to do something because you have an incentive for it. -Incentive: A positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior. Can intensify drives.
lymphocytes
■The 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: Form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.
psychodynamic therapy
■Therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and that seeks to enhance self-insight through current symptoms. ■More brief and less expensive than psychoanalysis.
psychotherapy
■Treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth. -Psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, cognitive perspectives -Four Main Goals: *Improve function *Hope for demoralized people *Offer a new perspective *Provide an empathetic, trusting, caring relationship
A.L. Washburn
■Washburn agreed to swallow a balloon to measure his stomach contractions. -Pressed a key each time he felt a hunger pang. -Had stomach contractions whenever he felt a hunger pang. -Figure 38.1
Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?
●.33 correlation b/t brain size and intelligence ●Frontal and parietal lobes (high gray matter [neural cell bodies] and white matter [axons]) ●Frontal Lobe: Verbal/spatial questions ●Speed of perception + neural processing (processing speed and intelligence correlate b/c they share an underlying genetic influence)
Oral
●0-18 months ●Pleasure centers on the mouth- sucking, biting, chewing ●Formation of Id
Anal
●18-36 months ●Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control
Spinal cord
●2-way information highway connecting the PNS and the brain. Info travels to and from brain by way of this. ●Sensory info ascends to brain and motor-control info descends into body. They communicate through interneurons.
Different Biases in Intelligence Testing
●3 Questions: Genetically disposed race difference in intelligence? / Socially influenced race difference in intelligence? / Race difference in test scores, but tests= inappropriate/biased? ●Two Meanings of Bias 1) [Biased]: Detects not only innate differences in intelligence but also performance differences caused by cultural experiences. [class and race] -Some groups have unequal experiences 2) [Unbiased]: Hinges on a test's validity- on whether it predicts future behavior only for some groups of test-takers. ●Stereotype Threat
Phallic
●3-6 years ●Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings ●Formation of superego ●Oedipus Complex
Latency
●6-puberty ●A phase of dormant sexual feelings
Standard Deviation
●A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score (more useful). ●Measure of Variation ●Includes large numbers of data and a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve. ●√sum of (deviations)^2/number of scores ●Low= data points are close to mean / High = data points are spread out
Little Albert Experiment
●A controlled experiment showing empirical evidence of classical conditioning and operant conditioning in humans. Also provides an example of stimulus generalization. ●John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner NS= white rat US= loud noise, UR= fear NS + US = UR CS= white rat, CR= fear
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
●A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests + repetitive behaviors. ●Impaired theory of mind (difficulty grasping others' states of mind) ●Genetics + testosterone influence ASD
General Intelligence (g)
●A general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test [general ability]. ●Most predictive in novel situations and don't correlate with skills in evolutionary familiar situations. ●A common skill set, the g factor, underlies all intelligent behavior
prototype
●A mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to this provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a _____________ bird, such as a robin). ●When we move away from these, our category boundaries may blur.
hippocampus + frontal lobe
●A neural center located in the limbic system + temporal lobe; helps process explicit memories (for facts and episodes) for storage in other brain regions (like the brain cortex) ●Many brain regions send information to the frontal lobes for processing. ●Left H: Verbal information ●Right H: Visual information
Hypothalamus
●A neural structure lying below the thalamus ●Survival drive controlled by hormones (fight/flight, eating, drinking, sex) ●Helps govern ES via the pituitary gland--> Turns on/off PG (hormones) ●Brain influences ES, which in turn influences the brain.
All-Or-None Response
●A neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not (like a gun). ●Has to reach threshold.
working memory (Figure 31.3)
●A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory. ●Varies
How Neurotransmitters Influence Us (Motions and Emotions)
●A particular brain pathway may only use 1-2 neurotransmitters. ●Particular neurotransmitters may affect specific behaviors/emotions. ●Neurotransmitter systems interact ●Drugs and other chemicals affect brain chemistry at synapses--> from outside body (agonists + antagonists)
LSD
●A powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid. ●Euphoria, detachment, panic ●Near-death experience
CT (Computed Tomography) Scan / CAT Scan
●A series of X-ray photos taken from different angles and combined by a computer into a composite representation of a slice of the brain's structure. ●Shows brain anatomy / structural scan ●Can reveal brain damage
Biofeedback
●A system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physical state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension. ●Not acclaimed, more about tension headaches
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan
●A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task (shows each brain area's consumption of its chemical fuel) ●Shows brain function / functional scan ●Shows which brain areas are most active
Self-Control
●Ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards. ●Can fluctuate / requires attention and energy ●Good adjustments, good grades, social success ●A perceived lack of control provokes outpouring of hormones that put people's health at risk.
Emotional intelligence
●Ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. ●Socially and self-aware ●Unconscious processing of emotional information ●Could stretch concept of intelligence too far ●High personal and professional success
Embryo
●About 10 days after conception, zygote attatches to mom's uterine wall, beginning the process. Zygote's inner cells become this. ●Develops body organs ●2-->9 weeks
Latent Learning
●About operant conditioning ●Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it (Tolman, rats in mazes).
Blindsight
●Act as if you can see. ●Vision= dual processing
short-term memory (Figure 31.6)
●Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten (encode it through rehearsal). ●Can remember about 7 items
conformity
●Adjusting behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. ●Suggestibility and mimicry (types) ●Most likely to adjust our behavior/thinking to coincide with a group standard when... -Feel incompetent or insecure -There's at least 3 people in the group -Everyone else agrees -Admire the group's status -Haven't committed to another response -Being observed -Culture encourages respect
Puberty
●Adolescence begins with this ●Period of sexual maturation where a person becomes capable of reproducing (physical differences) -Boys=taller ●Sequence of physical changes in _________ is far more predictable than their timing. ●About when we mature + how people react to it. ●Early Maturation -Boys: Mixed effects -Girls: Can be a challenge ●Frontal lobes develop / growth of myelin ●Maturation of frontal lobes lags behind emotional limbic system.
Visual Info Processing
●After processing by bipolar and ganglion cells in the retina, neural impulses travel... optic nerve--> thalamus--> visual cortex ●Pressure can trigger retinal cells / brain interprets their firing as light ●Scene--> Retinal Processing--> Feature Detection--> Parallel Processing--> Recognition
Lev Vygotsky
●Age 7: Children increasingly think in words + use words to solve problems ●How a child's mind grows through interaction with social environment ●Temporary scaffold where children can step to higher levels of thinking. ●Effective mentoring= When child is developmentally ready to learn a new skill. ●Zone of proximal development: Zone between what a child can and can't do (what a child can do with help) ●Children= apprentices
Genders: Alike and Different?
●Alike: 45 same chromosomes (unisex) ●Different -Gender and Aggression (men are more aggressive, women are more verbally aggressive) -Gender and Social Power (men are more dominant, forceful, independent / men= directive, women= democratic) -Gender and Social Connectedness (look at Carol Gilligan term [#11])
Noam Chomsky
●All languages do share some basic elements, which he calls universal grammar / language acquisition device ●We humans are born with a built-in predisposition (innate) to learn grammar rules ●Language is not thought, but a way of expressing thought
Older Brain Structures (Figure 11.11)
●All occur without any conscious effort ●Basic life functions and memory, emotions, drives -Brainstem -Medulla -Pons -Reticular Formation (RAS) -Cerebellum -Limbic System (Hippocampus, Amygdala, Hypothalamus, Thalamus)
Hypnosis as Divided Consciousness (State Theory of Hypnosis)
●Altered state ●Ernest Hilgard--> Dissociation ●Selective attention ●Hypnosis doesn't block sensory input, but may block our attention to those stimuli
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
●Amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp. ●Shows brain function / functional scan ●Detect abnormalities related to the electrical activity of the brain.
Limits on CC
●An animal's capacity for conditioning is constrained by its biology. ●A genetic predisposition to associate a CS with a US that follows predictably and immediately is adaptive.
prejudice (Figure 77.1, 77.3)
●An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members-- often a different cultural, ethnic, or gender group. ●Mixture of beliefs (stereotypes), emotions, and predispositions to action (to discriminate) ●As overt prejudice wanes, subtle prejudice lingers (can be unconscious). ●Social roots include social inequalities and divisions.
memory/information-processing models
●Analogies that compare human memory to a computer's operations. ●Encoding, storage, retrieval EX: ●Connectionism ●Atkinson-Shiffrin
Shape Constancy
●Angle of view ●Perceive form of familiar objects as constant even while our retinas receive changing images of them (also consider context)
Size Constancy
●Angle of view ●Perceive objects as having a constant size, even while our distance from them varies (also consider context) ●Connection between this and distance.
Robert Rescorla
●Animal can learn predictability of an event. In CC, animals may learn when to expect a US and may be aware of the link between the stimuli and responses. ●Light (no fear)--> tone (fear)--> shock--> fear [rat] ●Expectancy: An awareness of how likely the US will occur. Associations can influence attitudes. Cognition matters.
Reinforcement/Reinforcers
●Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows (vary with circumstances). ●Something that increases the likelihood that a specific behavior or response will occur.
aggression
●Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy. Emerges from the interaction of biology (genetic, neural, biochemical) and experience. ●Picture= Biopsychosocial aggression
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
●Approach to sex: Women= relational, men= recreational ●Attractive in a mate? -Woman's youthful appearance, narrower waist than hips, peak fertility (increasing men's chances of spreading genes) -Men's stick-around likeliness. ●Humans are designed to prefer what worked for our ancestors in their environment.
Sympathetic Nervous System
●Arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations. Fight or flight (adrenaline) ●Involuntary, body activating to deal with environment
Critical Period
●Attachments based on familiarity form during this. ●Optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development.
Actions Affect Attitudes
●Attitudes follow behavior/actions ●In many cases, people adjust their attitudes. ●Changing our behavior can change how we think about others and how we feel about ourselves.
source amnesia/misattribution
●Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. Along with the misinformation effect, this is at the heart of many false memories. ●Among the frailest parts of a memory is its source.
Fetus
●Baby learns sound + language ●9 weeks--> birth
Conservation
●Before 6, children lack ●Principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.
Resting Potential
●Before a neuron fires when it is ready to fire. ●Outside of axon= positive (Na+), Inside= negative (K+)
two-word stage
●Beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in two-word statements ●Telegraphic speech ●After this, begin speaking in full sentences
Evolutionary Success Helps Explain Similarities (Our Genetic Legacy)
●Behavioral and biological similarities arise from our shared human genome. Genetic differences between two people of one group vs. another is greater than the average difference between the two groups. ●Humans have shared moral instincts. ●We are biologically prepared (from ancestors) for a world that no longer exists.
Howard Gardner
●Believed in Eight Intelligences (multiple intelligences) -Bodily-Kinesthetic -Intrapersonal -Interpersonal -Naturalist -Linguistic -Logical-Mathematical -Musical -Spatial ●Multiple abilities that come in different packages. ●Savant syndrome helped with his research. ●Strength: Intelligence is more than just verbal and math skills. Other abilities are equally important to our human adaptability. ●Weakness: Should all of our abilities be considered intelligences? Shouldn't some be called talents?
Robert Sternberg
●Believed in three intelligences (triarchic theory) (predict real-world success) -Analytical Intelligence (academic problem solving) -Creative Intelligence (novel ideas) -Practical Intelligence ●Strength: These three facets can be reliably measured. ●Weakness: May be less independent than Sternberg thought and may actually share an underlying g factor. Additional testing is needed.
Genes
●Biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes ●Segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins ●Provide code for creating protein molecules - our body's building blocks ●Active- expressed, or inactive
Albert Bandura
●Bobo Doll Experiment--> Adult abuses a Bobo Doll as a child watches. Child is taken to a room with appealing toys they can't have. Then to a 3rd room with a Bobo Doll. Children lashed out at the doll. -Children's actions directly imitate the doll's -By watching a model, we experience vicarious reinforcement/punishment and we learn to anticipate a behavior's consequences in situations like those we are observing.
Pain
●Bottom-up and top-down ●Orders you to change your behavior / body's way of telling you that something has gone wrong ●Biological Influences (Brain can sense even without functioning senses) -Nocireceptors: Sensory receptors that detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals (sent to spinal cord then brain) -Gate-Control Theory -When we are distracted from pain and soothed by endorphins, experience of pain diminishes -Brain can create pain in phantom limbs. ●Psychological Influences: Distraction ●Social-Cultural Influences: We perceive more pain when others seem to be.
Sensory Interaction
●Brain blends inputs ●One sense may influence another, like food/taste -EX: Vision/hearing, Touch/visual/hearing, Tactile/social
Biological Model (brain structures/hormones & NT's)
●Brain structures/neural: amygdala, frontal lobe--> decreased activity & controlling impulses ●Biochemical: Hormone testosterone (irritability, assertiveness, impulsiveness, low tolerance for frustration, competitive), stress hormones, alcohol unleashes aggressive responses to frustration ●NT's: Norepinephrine
Dendrites
●Branching fibers from cell body ●Receive info and conduct it toward cell body
Aphasia
●Broca's Aphasia: Can't put words together to form complete sentences. Can understand others' speech. ●Wernicke's Aphasia: Can't understand in its written or spoken form. Can produce speech- only the most basic nouns and verbs.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
●Calms the body, conserving its energy. Homeostasis after activity ●Involuntary, body activating to deal with environment
Fovea
●Central focal point in retina ●Cones cluster in/around this- transmits to a single bipolar cell ●Rods share bipolar cells, sending combined messages
Motor Neurons
Carry information from the brain/spinal cord to the body's tissues/muscles/glands.
hallucinations
False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Caused by damage to cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerve (more common than CHL).
Conduction Hearing Loss
Caused by damage to mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.
Cell Body
Cell's life-support center.
delusions
False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.
Collective Unconscious
Carl Jung's belief that we have a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history--> spiritual concerns are deeply rooted, dif. cultures share certain beliefs. (discounted in modern world)
Hallucination
False sensory experience, such as seeing something in absence of external visual stimulus.
Sensory Neurons
Carries messages from body's tissues and sensory receptors inward to the brain and spinal cord for processing.
Internal Locus Of Control
Base their success on their own work and believe they control their life.
babbling stage
Beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language. 10 months- sounds found in household language.
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Behavior is influenced by interaction between peoples traits and their social context. (mental processes)
counterconditioning
Behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to pair new responses to the trigger stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; include exposure therapies and aversive conditioning.
exposure therapies
Behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization and virtual reality exposure therapy, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid (a type of counterconditioning)
Subliminal
Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness. Can subtly influence people. ●We can evaluate stimuli even when we aren't aware of it. ●When stimulus triggers synchronized activity in several brain areas does it reach consciousness.
Retinal Disparity
Binocular cues for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the 2 eyes, the brain computes distance- the greater the difference between the 2 images, the closer the object.
Figure 15.1: Biopsychosocial Approach to Individual Development
Biological Influences -Shared human genome -Individual genetic variations -Prenatal environment -Sex-related genes, hormones, and physiology Psychological Influences -Gene-environment interaction -Neurological effect of early experiences -Responses evoked by our own personality, gender, etc. -Beliefs, feelings, and expectations Social-cultural Influences -Parent Influences -Peer Influences -Cultural attitudes and norms -Cultural gender norms *All lead to individual development
Biopsychosocial- Mood Disorders (Figure 67.5)
Biological Perspective ■Genetic Influences -Twins + The Depressed Brain Social-Cognitive Perspective ■Depression's Vicious Cycle (picture)
Sexual Development
Biology may influence gender differences: differing sex chromosomes (genetics) and differing concentrations of sex hormones (physiological)
Primary Sex Characteristics
Body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.
Intersex
Born with intermediate or unusual combinations of male and female physical features.
Feedback system
Brain --> Pituitary --> Other Glands --> Hormones --> Body and Brain (NS directs endocrine secretions, which affect NS)
Contributers to Schizophrenia
Brain Abnormalities ■Dopamine overactivity ■Abnormal brain activity and anatomy ■Maternal virus during midpregnancy Genetic Factors ■Predisposition- parent, sibling (twins) ■Influenced by many genes Psychological Factors ■Disruptive/withdrawn behavior ■Emotional unpredictability ■Poor peer relations + solo play
Context Effects (physical and emotional; top-down)
Brain can work backward in time to allow a later stimulus to determine how we perceive an earlier one.
Stroboscopic Movement
Brain perceives continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying objects.
Plasticity
Brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or building new pathways based on experiences. Diminishes later in life.
psychometrics
Branch of psychology devoted to studying the measurement of our abilities, attitudes, and traits.
What Affects Our Sleep Patterns?
Bright morning light tweaks circadian clock by activating light-sensitive retinal proteins--> trigger signals to brain's suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).
basic research
Builds psychology's knowledge base.
Nerves
Bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the CNS with muscles, glands, and sense organs.
deep-brain stimulation
Calms an overactive brain region linked with negative emotions.
Charles Darwin
Came up with a principle called natural selection.
Pop-Out
Can see distinct stimuli.
Adulthood: Physical Development
Early Adulthood ●Physical abilities begin to decline in mid-20s Middle Adulthood ●Physical + fertility decline / sexual activity lessens ●Menopause Late Adulthood ●Strength and stamina: decreasing muscle strength, reaction time, stamina -Exercise slows aging ●Sensory Abilities: decreasing visual sharpness, distance perception, adaptation; decreasing smell and hearing ●Health: weakening immune system; accumulation of antibodies--> people over 65 suffer few short-term ailments ●The Aging Brain: More time to react, solve puzzles, remember names; slower neural processing; high accident risks; decreasing memory--> loss of brain cells and frontal lobe (neurocognitive disorder / dementia) -Telomeres wear down -Longevity-supporting genes, low stress, and good health = better health
Environmental Influences
Early Environmental Influences ●Neglect v. care (impoverished v. wealthy)-> Among impoverished, environmental conditions can depress cognitive development. ●You can slow down intelligence, but can't speed it up ●Schooling and Intelligence -Genes/experience weave intelligence fabric -Intelligence is changeable
telegraphic speech
Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.
Defense Mechanisms
Ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.
Lazarus theory
Emotions arise when we appraise an event as harmless or dangerous, whether we truly know it is or not (sometimes happens without our conscious awareness).
active listening/reflection
Empathetic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers' client-centered therapy.
humanistic psychology
Emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential, and the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied. Someone working from the humanistic perspective (a historically important approach) might have been interested in understanding how angry feelings affect a person's potential for growth and personal fulfillment.
Prefrontal Cortex
Enables judgement, planning, and processing of new memories.
shallow processing
Encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.
Culture
Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. Our shared biological heritage unites us as a universal human family.
testing effect
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.
Eustachian Tube
Equalizes air pressure.
availability heuristic (Figure 35.4)
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common. -We fear what our ancestral history has prepared us to fear -We fear what we cannot control -We fear what is immediate -We fear what is most readily available in memory
Informed Consent
Ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate
Punishment
Event that tends to decrease the behavior it follows.
Neutral Stimuli
Events the dog could see/hear but didn't associate with food. Elicits no response before conditioning.
Sleep Stages
Every 90 minutes, we cycle thru 4 _______ _______: NREM 1,2,3 and REM
Environment
Every external influence, from prenatal nutrition to people and things around us.
McClelland's three-needs theory
Every person has one of three main driving motivators: the needs for achievement, affiliation, or power. These motivators are not inherent; we develop them through our culture and life experiences.
Culture
Everything shared by a group and transmitted across generations.
Frontal Lobes
Execute functioning, speaking, voluntary muscle movements, making plans and judgements, problem solving, personality, intelligence, memory
Cingulate Gyrus
Experiencing emotions (b/t limbic system and prefrontal cortex).
Placebo Effect
Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.
experimental psychology
Explore behavior and thinking with experiments
social psychology
Exploring how we view and affect one another.
Validity
Extent to which a test measures or predicts what it's supposed to.
Validity
Extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it's supposed to.
Content Validity
Extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.
Reliability
Extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on 2 halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.
Vision
Eyes receive light energy and transduce it into neural messages that our brain processes into what we consciously see.
Change Blindness
Failing to notice changes in the environment.
Inattentional Blindness
Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed towards another stimuli.
Non-Empirically Derived Test
Faith or theory-driven.
Gender and Racial Differences in Intelligence
Gender: ●Gender dif. helped survival of our ancestors (evolutionary) ●Experience/Biology/Social/Cultural ●Men and women tend to have same avg. intelligence scores. ●Boys: Outperform girls at spatial ability and related mathematics, though girls outperform boys in math computation. Boys also outnumber girls at the low and high extremes of mental abilities. ●Girls: Better spellers, more verbally fluent, better at locating objects, better at detecting emotions, and more sensitive to touch, taste, and color. Race: ●Racial groups differ in average intelligence scores ●High-scoring ppl and groups are more likely to attain high levels of education and income ●Nature or nurture?--> Heredity contributes to individual differences in intelligence, but group difference in a heritable trait may be entirely environmental ●Under the skin, the races are remarkably alike ●Race is not a neatly defined biological category. ●Intelligence test performance of todays better-fed and educated population exceeds that of the 60s-70s-- by a greater margin that the intelligence test score of average white today exceeds that of the average black ●When B & W have/receive the same pertinent knowledge, they exhibit similar info-processing skill. ●Schools + culture matter ●In different eras, different ethnic groups have experienced golden ages- periods of remarkable achievement
Mental Aptitude
General capacity that shows up in various ways.
Proximity
Geographic nearness. -Increases liking
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. (Table 59.3) (Need to belong)
Representative Sample
Group of people that accurately represents a large group of people. Best basis for generalizing is from this.
NREM-1
Hallucinations, irregular brain waves, brief
Paul Ekman
Has done research in detecting fleeting signals of deceit in facial expressions.
Egocentrism
Have difficult perceiving things from another's point of view.
Hermann Rorschach
He designed the Rorschach Inkblot Test, a set of 10 inkblots; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots. (most widely used, but discredited)
Vestibular Nerve
Hearing/balance and brings information from the inner ear to the brain.
Night Terrors
High arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, they occur during NREM-2 sleep, within 2-3 hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered (children)
Learned Helplessness
Hopelessness and passive resignation an animal/human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events (no control, more control= longer life).
3 Parts of Personality
Id, Ego, Superego (Human personality arises from a conflict b/t impulse and restraint--> from our efforts to resolve this basic conflict)
Separated Twins
Identical twins reared apart are just as similar as identical twins raised together (not the same as fraternal twins).
Multiple Sclerosis
If the myelin sheath on an axon degenerates.
Phi Phenomenon
Illusion of movement created when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.
Stimulus Discrimination
In CC, learned ability to distinguish b/t a CS and stimuli that don't signal an US. Adaptive.
grammar
In a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others (semantics and syntax).
phoneme
In a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.
morpheme
In a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix).
Experimental Group
In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable. If a behavior changes when we vary an experimental variable, then we infer the variable is having an effect.
Control Group
In an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.
Terror-Management Theory
Theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death. Death anxiety increases contempt for others + esteem for oneself.
group therapy
Therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, permitting therapeutic benefits from group interaction, like learning that others have similar problems.
behavior therapy
Therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors. Focus on what we do.
cognitive therapy
Therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions. Focus on what we think. Can get quick results.
family therapy
Therapy that treats the family as a system. Views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members.
Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga
These two scientists divided brains of cats and monkeys at the corpus callosum. Also did split brain visual studies on the human brain. Said there are "two separate minds". Roger Sperry: Mind and brain are a holistic system. The brain creates and controls the emergent mind, which in turn influences the brain.
Critical Thinking
Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, assesses the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. It is informed by science and helps clear the colored lenses of our biases. It recognizes multiple perspectives. Actively processing information, analyzing, asking ?
empathy-altruism theory
This is based on one's feelings for others. If someone feels empathy for someone, they will help them even if they have nothing to gain from it. If there is no empathy, the social exchange theory takes control.
Law of Effect
Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences are more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely (behavior control) / no internal cognition
How Effective is Psychotherapy?
Those not undergoing therapy often improve, but those undergoing therapy are more likely to improve more quickly, and with less risk of relapse.
cognitive psychology
To explore scientifically the ways we perceive, process, and remember information. Someone working from the cognitive perspective might study how our interpretation of a situation affects our anger and how our anger affects our thinking.
Sublimation
Transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives.
Cochlear Nerve
Transfers auditory information from cochlea to brain.
Adolescence
Transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence (time of validity).
Auditory Canal
Transmits sound waves from pinna to tympanic membrane.
Lens
Transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.
Hypnotherapists
Try to help patients harness their own healing powers / change their problems
Amygdala
Two lima-bean-sized neural clusters that are linked to strong emotions. (aggression, fear)
Transgender
Umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex. (gender expression; transsexual)
Repression
Underlies all other defense mechanisms. The basic mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing impulses and enables other defense mechanisms.
Latent Content
Underlying meaning of a dream / unconscious drives / wishes
discrimination
Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members-- motivated by prejudice.
altruism
Unselfish regard for the welfare of others without regard to your own self-interest. Picture: Other factors, including our mood and similarity to the victim, also affect our willingness to help.
industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology
Use psychology's concepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, design products, and implement systems.
applied research
Use the knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human/practical problems.
Sexual Orientation
●Enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homo), the other sex (hetero), or both sexes (bi). -Neither willfully chosen nor willfully changed. -Not an indicator of mental health -Men= less erotic plasticity (sexual variability) than women -Environment doesn't affect S.O. ●Proof of Biology/Difference in Sexual Orientation -Same-sex attraction in other species -Gay-straight brain differences *Hypothalamus cell cluster= reliably larger in hetero men than in women and homo men. (different development soon after birth) -Genetic Influences *Family studies--> evolutionary / maternal genetics *Twin studies--> same orientation *Fruit fly studies--> multiple genes *Prenatal influences--> exposure to hormone levels or mother's immune system (fraternal birth-order effect) -Gay-Straight Trait Differences (Table 53.1) *Traits fall midway between straight males and females
The Competent Newborn
●Equipped with automatic reflex responses (cries for nourishment) ●Habituation
Basic Trust
●Erik Erikson ●Sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers ●Formed with good, early parenting
Weber's Law
●Ernst Weber ●Principle that, to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percent (rather than a constant amount)
Opponent Processing Theory
●Ewald Hering / Afterimages ●Opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.
*Norepinephrine (NE)
●Excitatory ●Used for arousal in the flight/fight response (alertness), modulation of mood, plays a role in learning and memory retrieval ●Effect of Deficit: Depression + other mental disorders ●Effect of Surplus: Anxiety
Glutamate
●Excitatory ●Works together with GABA ●Used in memory, learning, movement. Helps messages cross the synapse more efficiently ●Effect of Deficit: None ●Effect of Surplus: Too much glutamate (and too little GABA) is associated with epileptic seizures
Acetylcholine
●Excitatory, Released by motor neurons ●Enables muscle contraction, attention, memory, learning, and general thinking ●Messenger at every junction between motor neurons and skeletal muscles ●Effect of Deficit: Alzheimer's disease ●Effect of Surplus: Severe muscle spasms (involuntary)
divergent thinking
●Expands the number of possible problem solutions (diverges in different directions) ●Creativity tests ●Injury to certain areas of the frontal lobes damages this ability
B.F. Skinner
●Experiment w/ operant chamber about reinforcement ●Behaviorism ●Legacy: Critics said his work was dehumanized / His reply- actions are controlled by external consequences, reinforcement=humane
George Sperling
●Experiment where people viewed 3 rows of 3 letters each, for only 1/20 of a sec. After the 9 letters disappeared, they could recall about 1/2 of them. -When signaled to recall a particular row immediately after the letters had disappeared and after a tone was rung, they could do so with accuracy. ●Iconic Memory
Cerebellum
●Extends from the rear of the brainstem (called little brain) ●Balance, coordination, and motor memory
basal ganglia
●Facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills (implicit memories) ●Receive input from the cortex but do not send information back to it for conscious awareness of procedural learning
attitude
●Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events. ●___________ affect actions + actions affect __________.
Zygote
●Fewer than half survive beyond the 1st 2 weeks ●The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and development into an embryo. ●Conception--> 2 weeks
James Flynn
●Flynn Effect (college entrance aptitude scores were dropping in the 60's-70's but intelligence test scores were improving.) ●Rising performance in intelligence tests ●Standardization
functional fixedness
●Form of mental set ●The inability to perceive a new use for an object- limits a person to seeing an object only used the way it is supposed to.
Theory of Mind
●Forming in preschool ●People's ideas about their own and others' mental states - about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict. ●Others' thoughts can be different
Roy Baumeister
●Found that people tend to see their foibles and attitudes in others, which is called the false consensus effect: the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors. ●Experimented with the "dark side of high self-esteem."
Dream Theories / Table 24.3
●Freud's wish-fulfillment: Satisfy our own wishes & unacceptable feelings; dreams=key to understanding inner conflicts; manifest and latent content / discredited: lacks scientific support + dreams can be interpreted ●Information Processing: Sort out day's events and file away memories; REM sleep = important to memories / but why do we sometimes dream about things we haven't experienced? ●Physiological Function: Develop and preserve neural pathways from regular brain stimulation in REM sleep / but why do we experience meaningful dreams? ●Neural Activation: REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories / but the individual's brain is weaving the stories ●Cognitive Development: Dream content reflects dreamers' cognitive development; top-down / but it doesn't address the neuroscience of dreams
Unconscious
●Freud: Reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. ●Modern: Info processing of which we are unaware.
Formal Operational Stage
●From 12--> adulthood ●Abstract thinking, systematic reasoning ●Apply new abstract reasoning tools to world around us
Preoperational Stage
●From 2--> 6,7 years ●Where a child learns to use language but doesn't comprehend mental operations of concrete logic. ●Conservation, symbolic thinking, egocentrism, theory of mind
Lawrence Kohlberg (Table 51.1)
●Moral reasoning guides moral actions (unconscious) ●Moral reasoning (thinking that occurs as we consider right and wrong) ●Moral Intuition (quick gut feelings or affectively laden intuitions) -Human morality is run by moral emotions / moral reasoning is pretending to be in control -Moral intuitions trump moral reasoning ●Moral Action (thinking, feeling, and doing the right thing; moral action feeds moral attitudes) ●Moral decisions are egocentric ●Changes in the stages: fueled by changes in cognitive capability STAGE THEORY ON MORAL DEVELOPMENT ●Preconventional Morality: Birth--> 9yrs; self-interest (obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards) -1) Avoid punishment -2) Gain Reward ●Conventional Morality: 9--> 20yrs; uphold laws to gain social approval or maintain social order. -3) Gain Approval & Avoid Disapproval -4) Duty & Guilt ●Postconventional Morality: 20+ or maybe never; actions reflect belief in basic rights + self-defined ethical principles -5) Agreed upon rights -6) Personal moral standards
Testosterone
●Most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates growth of male sex organs in fetus + development of male sex characteristics during puberty. ●4th-5th prenatal months: Sex hormones bathe fetal brain and influence its wiring (causes sexual differentiation)
Pituitary Gland
●Most influential gland / master gland ●Controls hypothalamus: regulates growth and influences hormone secretion by other endocrine glands. -Examples: Growth Hormone, Oxytocin
Sigmund Freud
●Mostly case studies ●Unconscious ●Psychoanalysis ●Layers of Mind: Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious ●Parts of Personality: Id, Ego, Superego ●Psychosexual Stages ●Defense Mechanisms ●Repression
Motor Cortex
●Motor function ●An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements (issues orders to move body). Stimulating parts in the left or right hem. cause movements on the opposite side of the body. ●Body areas requiring precise control occupy the greatest amount of cortical space.
convergent thinking
●Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution ●Intelligence tests ●Injury to the left parietal lobe damages this ability
Maturation
●Nature ●Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience. (experience [nurture] adjusts it)
Behavior Genetics
●Nature and nurture shape development ●Study of our differences and weighing the effects + interplay of heredity and environment
Karen Horney
●Neo-Freudian ●Childhood is important but social, not sexual, tensions are crucial for personality formation. Childhood anxiety triggers our desire for love and security, fought for women's self-respect. ●Womb envy ●Self Help
Alfred Adler
●Neo-Freudian ●Childhood is important but social, not sexual, tensions are crucial for personality formation. Inferiority complex + conquer childhood inferiority ●Birth order is important in developing personality.
Carl Jung
●Neo-Freudian ●Freud's disciple-turned-dissenter -- placed less emphasis on social factors; unconscious exerts powerful influences; unconscious contains more than our repressed thoughts and feelings; unconscious is the source of creative impulse ●Collective unconscious (collection of memories from our history- archetypes)
The Eye
●Nerves transfer the signal to the brain. ●Light enters the eyes through the pupil--> lens --> retina--> rods and cones in retina--> bipolar cells--> optic nerve Light rays reflected from a candle pass through the cornea, pupil, and lens. The curvature and thickness of the lens change to bring nearby or distant objects into focus on the retina. Rays from the top of the candle strike the bottom of the retina, and those from the left side of the candle strike the right side of the retina. The candle's image on the retina thus appears upside down and reversed, but perceived upright in the brain.
Action Potential
●Neurons transmit messages when stimulated by signals. In response, neurons fire an impulse, called this. ●Neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. ●Neurons generate electricity from chemical events. ●Ions= chemically charged atoms that are exchanged (axon's surface is selectively permeable) ●Direction of Electrical Impulse: Only one direction, away from cell body through axon to terminal
NREM sleep
●Nonrapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM (1 hour of this, then REM) ●No paralysis or dreams ●Order: NREM-1, NREM-3, NREM-2, REM
Hypnosis as a Social Phenomenon (Role Theory)
●Normal consciousness ●Social influence theory of hypnosis~ role playing "good subject"
Daniel Kahneman
●Notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, as well as behavioral economics. ●Challenged the assumption of human rationality prevailing in modern economic theory. ●With Tversky and others, established a cognitive basis for common human errors that arise from heuristics and biases and developed prospect theory
Stanley Milgram (Figure 75.2)
●Obedience ●If the "learner" gives a wrong answer on a list of word pairs, the "teacher" delivers a mild shock. With each succeeding error, you move to a higher voltage. After many wrong answers you hear the learner begin to scream but the experimenter says you must continue. The majority complied. -No real shock was being delivered to the learner/confederate ●Most people were sure they would stop in a survey taken before the experiment. -All cruelty takes is ordinary people corrupted by an evil situation.
Today's Views on Piaget's Theory
●Object permanence unfolds gradually ●There are sequences of cognitive milestones, but development is seen as more continuous ●Piaget underestimated children's competence
Color Vision
●Objects reflect wavelengths of color. Color is our mental construction (it doesn't exist outside the brain, perception). ●Color processing occurs in 2 stages--> YHTT, then processed by nervous system's opponent-process cells (OPT)