Psych Midterm - assignments 1, 2, 3

The ________ has developed ethics guidelines for its members, and the ________ evaluates the ethical nature of research conducted at their colleges and universities.

American Psychological Association (APA); Institutional Review Board (IRB)

________ is a theory of learning that focuses solely on observable actions and responses.

Behaviorism

________ is a learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an innately meaningful stimulus and acquires the capacity to elicit a similar response.

Classical conditioning

!!! How does culture influence learning?

Culture can influence the degree to which certain learning processes (e.g., classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning) are used. Culture can also influence the content of what we learn about. Learning requires practice, and certain behaviors are practiced more in some cultures than in others.

________ refers to auditory sensory memory, whereas ________ refers to visual sensory memory.

Echoic memory; iconic memory

________ of information is linked with neural activity in the left frontal lobe of the brain.

Elaboration

________ refers to the formation of several different connections around a stimulus at any given level of memory encoding.

Elaboration

!!! Explain inattentional blindness.

Inattentional blindness refers to the failure to detect unexpected events when attention is engaged by a task. When we are working intently on something, such as finding a seat in a packed movie theater, we might not even see an unusual stimulus, such as a friend waving to us in the crowd. Inattentional blindness is more likely to occur when a task is difficult and when the distracting stimulus is very different from stimuli that are relevant to the task at hand. Research on inattentional blindness suggests the dangers of multitasking when one of the tasks is driving. Engaging in a task such as talking on a cell phone or sending text messages can so occupy attention that little is left over for the important task of piloting a motor vehicle. Research revealed that individuals who send text messages while they drive face 23 times the risk of a crash or near crash compared with nondistracted drivers.

________ are chemical substances that are stored in very tiny sacs within the neuron's terminal buttons and involved in transmitting information across a synaptic gap to the next neuron.

Neurotransmitters

________ are frightening dreams that awaken a dreamer from REM sleep. ________ involve sudden arousal from sleep and an intense physiological fear reaction (e.g., screaming, heavy breathing, and perspiration).

Nightmares; Night terrors

________ inhibits the firing of neurons in the central nervous system, but it excites the heart muscle, intestines, and urogenital tract.

Norepinephrine

________ is the first step in the scientific method.

Observing some phenomenon

________ drug dependence is the physiological need for a drug that causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms and a craving for the drug when it is discontinued, whereas ________ drug dependence is the strong desire to repeat the use of a drug for emotional reasons.

Physical; psychological

!!! Differentiate between psychological dependence and physical dependence on psychoactive drugs.

Psychological dependence is the strong desire to repeat the use of a drug for emotional reasons. Physical dependence is a physiological need for a drug that causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, such as pain or craving for the drug when it is discontinued. Psychological dependence refers to the emotional desire to repeat a drug for any number of reasons such as to cope, dissociate, or feel better; however physical dependence refers to specific physical cravings for the drug. A person with a physical dependence might get headaches, nausea, or any physical withdrawal symptoms that extend beyond emotional want.

!!! Describe the distinction between recall and recognition, and give an example of each. Which process typically yields better memory performance?

Recall is a memory task in which the individual has to retrieve previously learned information. Recognition is a memory task in which the individual only has to identify (recognize) learned items. Multiple-choice tests assess recognition (the student only has to recognize the answer with a given set of possible options), whereas essay tests assess recall (the student has to retrieve the information "from scratch"). Recognition typically yields better memory performance. For example, a witness who has to identify a suspect in a police lineup (recognition task) may find it easier to point out the correct suspect than a witness who has to describe the characteristics of the suspect to a police-sketch artist (recall task). Recall is when a person retrieves previously learned information from storage in the brain to use, this usually requires thinking, whereas recognition is memory used for identifying something that has been seen before. If you were ordering at a restaurant, recognition would be recognizing the items on the menu, and recall would be deciding what to order. Recognition typically yields better memory because it is easier to notice cues and similarities between situations.

________ is characterized by myoclonic jerks and theta waves, whereas ________ is/are characterized by delta waves.

Stage N1 sleep; stage N3 sleep

!!! Summarize the five steps of the scientific method.

Step 1 involves observing a phenomenon and thinking about theories that can explain these observations. Step 2 involves formulating an educated guess or hypothesis. A hypothesis is derived from a theory, and offers a prediction that can be tested. Step 3 requires that the researchers provide operational definitions of the variable they are studying. The researchers then begin the process of empirical research by collecting and analyzing data. In step 4 researchers draw conclusions from their results. It is important that research is replicated using different investigators and different methods. Replicable research results strengthen the validity and reliability of the scientists' conclusions. Finally, in step 5 of the scientific method, researchers submit their work for publication and it undergoes rigorous review. The research community is constantly evaluating and questioning conclusions in that after step 5, researchers begin the scientific method over again as they seek to revise their theory, methods, and so on.

________ is the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time.

Sustained attention

________ states that memory storage involves three separate systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

The Atkinson-Shiffrin theory

!!! Discuss the three ways through which brain repair can take place.

There are three ways that brain repair might take place: In collateral sprouting, the axons of some healthy neurons adjacent to damaged cells grow new branches. In substitution of function, the damaged region's function is taken over by another area or areas of the brain. Neurogenesis is the process by which new neurons are generated. Researchers have found that neurogenesis occurs in mammals such as mice. It is now accepted that neurogenesis can occur in humans.

________ is considered the founder of modern psychology.

Wilhelm Wundt

In the context of Albert Bandura's observational learning model, retention is a process in which

a learner keeps the information of a model's actions in memory to retrieve it later.

________ stress is the momentary stress that occurs in response to life experiences.

acute

An ________ is a drug that mimics or increases a neurotransmitter's effects, whereas an ________ is a drug that blocks a neurotransmitter's effects.

agonist; antagonist

The ________ is sometimes referred to as the "master gland" because almost all of its hormones direct the activity of target glands elsewhere.

anterior pituitary gland

________ is a state of being conscious of what is going on, whereas ________ is a physiological state of being engaged with the environment.

awareness; arousal

The ________ is the area on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye on its way to the brain, and it contains neither rods nor cones.

blind spot

________ is an abnormal disruption in the tissue of the brain resulting from injury or disease.

brain lesioning

The ________ is part of the forebrain, the outer layer of the brain, and is responsible for the most complex mental functions, such as thinking and planning.

cerebral cortex

Taste aversion is an example of

classical conditioning

What theory of dreaming proposes that dreaming involves information processing and memory?

cognitive theory of dreaming

________ refers to the theory that memory is stored throughout the brain in associations among neurons, several of which may work together to process a single memory.

connectionism

________ is an individual's awareness of external events and internal sensations under a condition of arousal.

consciousness

________ are the most alert states of human consciousness, during which individuals actively focus their efforts toward a goal.

controlled processes

According to ________, when we learn something new, a neurochemical memory trace forms, but over time this trace disintegrates.

decay theory

A(n) ________ allows researchers to identify the specific effects of the independent variable from the possible effects of the experimenter's and the participants' expectations about it.

double-blind experiment

________ refers to the process by which information gets into memory storage.

encoding

________ are natural opiates that mainly stimulate the firing of neurons.

endorphins

________ are neurons in the brain's visual system that respond to particular features of a stimulus.

feature detectors

The ________ is the principle by which we organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out and those that are left over.

figure-ground relationship

The ________ is the most important part of the retina and is a tiny area in the center of the retina at which vision is at its best.

fovea

Over time, a person is likely to develop a tolerance for a psychoactive drug and need a higher dose of the substance to get the same effect. This scenario exemplifies

habituation

________ is a form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden understanding of a problem's solution. (aha moment)

insight learning

Thorndike's law of effect is important because

it presents the basic idea that the consequences of a behavior influence the likelihood of that behavior's recurrence.

The ________ senses provide information about movement, posture, and orientation, whereas the ________ senses provide information about balance and movement.

kinesthetic; vestibular

According to Freud, ________ is a dream's hidden content—its unconscious and true meaning.

latent content

________ is defined as a type of learning that occurs without reinforcement. However, this learning is not demonstrated until the person or animal is reinforced to do so.

latent learning

The ________ is a transparent and somewhat flexible, disk-like structure filled with a gelatin-like material.

lens

In the context of brain imaging, ________ involves creating a magnetic field around a person's body and using radio waves to construct images of the person's tissues and biochemical activities.

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

________ refers to the retention of information or experience over time.

memory

________ are powerful depth cues available from the image in one eye, either right or left, and under normal circumstances they can provide a compelling impression of depth.

monocular cues

A ________ _________ is a layer of fat cells that insulates most axons and speeds up the transmission of nerve impulses.

myelin sheath

Alejandro is scolded each time he bullies his younger brother. His mother notices that the frequency of bullying has decreased. Scolding Alejandro is an example of

negative punishment

Mark, a high school student, dislikes the fact that his mother yells at him in the morning to wake him up. His mother usually wakes up at 5:30 A.M., and he tries to wake up at around 5:15 A.M. to avoid listening to his mother's yelling. In the context of operant conditioning, which of the following is exemplified in this scenario?

negative reinforcement

The ________ system is the body's electrochemical communication circuitry.

nervous

________ are interconnected groups of nerve cells that integrate sensory input and motor output.

neural networks

The cell body contains the ________, which directs the manufacture of substances that a neuron needs for growth and maintenance.

nucleus

________ is a hormone and neurotransmitter that plays an important role in the experience of love and social bonding.

oxytocin

________ is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense.

perception

The ________ connects the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body.

peripheral nervous system

According to Baddeley, the ________ is specialized to briefly store speech-based information about the sounds of language.

phonological loop

Your mother must always have an early morning cup of coffee. She usually has several more cups throughout the day. If she misses her daily doses of coffee, she gets a headache. The fact that your mother experiences headaches when she discontinues the use of caffeine is an example of

physical dependence.

The ________ gland is defined as a pea-sized gland just beneath the hypothalamus that controls growth and regulates other glands.

pituitary

A ________ is the entire group about which the investigator wants to draw conclusions, whereas a ________ is the subset of the population selected to participate in the study.

population; sample

________ is the species-specific biological predisposition to learn in certain ways but not others.

preparedness

A(n) ________ reinforcer is innately satisfying, and it does not require any learning on the organism's part to make it pleasurable.

primary

________ is a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will occur.

punishment

Pallahvi's eyes water every time she chops onions. Her response is an example of a

reflex

________ is a network of structures including the brain stem, medulla, and thalamus that determines arousal, one aspect of consciousness.

reticular activating system

________ is a situation in which material that was learned later disrupts the retrieval of information that was learned earlier.

retroactive interference

A ________ reinforcer acquires its positive value through an organism's experience.

secondary

________ is the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy.

sensation

The ________ is the tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of a list more readily than those in the middle.

serial position effect

In operant conditioning, ________ refers to rewarding successive approximations of a desired behavior.

shaping

According to the Atkinson-Shiffrin theory, which of the following memory systems has a time frame of up to 30 seconds?

short-term memory

In ________, the recognition of sensory stimuli depends on a variety of factors besides the physical intensity of the stimulus and the sensory abilities of the observer.

signal detection theory

________ is a natural state of rest for the body and mind that involves the reversible loss of consciousness.

sleep

________ is a sleep disorder in which individuals stop breathing because the windpipe fails to open or because brain processes involved in respiration fail to work properly.

sleep apnea

Depressants ________, whereas stimulants ________.

slow down central nervous system's activity; increase central nervous system's activity

Sleepwalking occurs during ________ of the sleep cycle.

stage N3

________ are the circumstances and events that threaten individuals and tax their coping abilities.

stressors

The ________ is the part of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body to mobilize it for action and thus is involved in the experience of stress.

sympathetic nervous system

According to ________, dreaming occurs when the cerebral cortex synthesizes neural signals generated from activity in the lower part of the brain.

the activation-synthesis theory

According to ________, memory for pictures is better than memory for words.

the dual-code theory

Ashton is 45 years old. He has vivid memories of the significant events that took place in his youth. However, he finds it difficult to recollect the events that took place during the first few years of his life. In the context of memory retrieval, this ability to recall events from certain phases of his life is known as

the reminiscence bump

A(n) ________ is a broad idea or closely related set of ideas that attempts to explain observations and to make predictions about future observations.

theory

In classical conditioning, the ________ is unlearned, but the ________ is learned.

unconditioned response, conditioned response

According to Sigmund Freud, ________ is a reservoir of unacceptable wishes, feelings, and thoughts that are beyond awareness.

unconscious thought

Watson and Rayner used a ________ along with an unconditioned stimulus in order to condition fear in little Albert.

white rat