Psych Chapter 6

insomnia

A chronic condition marked by difficulties in initiating or maintaining sleep, lasting for a period of at least one month.

hypersomnia

A chronic condition marked by excessive sleepiness.

stimulants

A class of drugs that increases central nervous system activity, enhancing neural transmission.

opiates

A class of drugs that reduces anxiety, lowers sensitivity to pain, and elevates mood; opiates often act to depress nervous system activity.

depressants

A class of drugs that slow or depress the ongoing activity of the central nervous system.

visual neglect

A complex disorder of attention characterized by a tendency to ignore things that appear on one side of the body (usually the left side).

drug dependency

A condition in which one experiences a physical or a psychological need for continued use of a drug. hallucinogens A class of drugs that tends to disrupt normal mental and emotional functioning, including distorting perception and altering reality.

sleepwalking

A condition in which the sleeper rises during sleep and wanders about; not thought to be associated with dreaming.

night terrors

A condition in which the sleeper, usually a child, awakens suddenly in an extreme state of panic; not thought to be associated with dreaming.

hypnosis

A form of social interaction that produces a heightened state of suggestibility in a willing participant.

hypnotic dissociation

A hypnotically induced splitting of con-scious-ness during which multiple forms of awareness coexist.

attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

A psychological disorder marked by difficulties in concentrating or in sustaining attention for extended periods; can be associated with hyperactivity.

narcolepsy

A rare sleep disorder characterized by sudden extreme sleepiness.

REM

A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and low-amplitude; irregular EEG patterns resembling those found in the waking brain. REM is typically associated with dreaming.

meditation

A technique for self-induced manipulation of awareness, often used for the purpose of relaxation and self-reflection.

manifest content

According to Freud, the actual symbols and events experienced in a dream.

latent content

According to Freud, the true psychological meaning of dream symbols.

tolerance

An adaptation made by the body to compensate for the continued use of a drug, such that increasing amounts of the drug are needed to produce the same physical and behavioral effects.

circadian rhythms

Biological activities that rise and fall in accordance with a 24-hour cycle.

biological clocks

Brain structures that schedule rhythmic variations in bodily functions by triggering them at the appropriate times.

dichotic listening

Different auditory messages are presented separately and simultaneously to each ear. The subject's task is to repeat aloud one message while ignoring the other.

psychoactive drugs

Drugs that affect behavior and mental processes through alterations of conscious awareness.

automaticity

Fast and effortless processing that requires little or no focused attention.

nightmares

Frightening and anxiety-arousing dreams that occur primarily during the REM stage of sleep.

withdrawal

Physical reactions, such as sweating, vomiting, changes in heart rate, or tremors, that occur when a person stops taking certain drugs after continued use.

cocktail party effect

The ability to focus on one auditory message and ignore others; also refers to the tendency to notice when your name suddenly appears in a message that you've been actively ignoring.

activation-synthesis hypothesis

The idea that dreams represent the brain's attempt to make sense of the random patterns of neural activity generated during sleep.

attention

The internal processes used to set priorities for mental functioning.

alpha waves

The pattern of brain activity observed in someone who is in a relaxed state.

theta waves

The pattern of brain activity observed in stage 1 sleep.

delta activity

The pattern of brain activity observed in stage 3 and stage 4 sleep; it's characterized by synchronized slow waves. Also called slow-wave sleep.

consciousness

The subjective awareness of internal and external events.

One structure that appears to play a key role in controlling our circadian rhythm is the:

The substantia nigra is not in the limbic system, it is a midbrain structure. This structure is responsible for the release of dopamine and damage to this structure can produce symptoms of Parkinson's disease. See pg.206

hypnotic hypermnesia

The supposed enhancement in memory that occurs under hypnosis; there is little if any evidence to support the existence of this effect.

REM rebound

The tendency to increase time spent in REM sleep after REM deprivation.

Marie is drowsy and her eyes are closed. She has not yet begun Stage 1 sleep, but she is extremely relaxed. If Marie were connected to an EEG, the recording would most likely show the presence of:

alpha waves; Theta waves appear during Stage 1 of the sleep cycle. See pg.208

Lorraine has passed into REM sleep. If Lorraine were connected to an EEG, the recording would show the presence of:

low amplitude, irregular brain wave patterns; Delta waves appear during Stages 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle. See pg.210

When a drug tolerance develops, an individual:

requires increased amounts of the drug to produce the same physical and behavioral effects; Individuals who have a drug tolerance require more of the drug to produce the same effects. See pg.218

The fact that Steven is able to hear his son call him, over all the other playground noises, illustrates the psychological concept of:

selective attention; Selective attention refers to our ability to block out irrelevant information and focus on stimuli that are important to the task at hand. See pg.198

Depressants are drugs that:

slow the ongoing activity of the central nervous system; This describes the action of hallucinogenic drugs. See pg.218

Visual neglect is most often associated with an injury to:

the right parietal lobe; This condition is associated with right hemisphere damage, and the damage is to the parietal lobe, not the temporal lobe. See pg.203

The survival value or adaptation theory of sleep suggests that the purpose of sleep is:

to protect us from danger when we are most vulnerable; Survival or adaptation theory suggests that the purpose of sleep is protection from predators. See pg.211

If two tasks can be performed together as efficiently as each task separately, at least one of the tasks is automatic.

true; Automaticity means that processing is effortless and does not consume processing resources. As a result, an automatic task does not cause a decrease in the quality or speed of processing a second task.

Even though Ted gets a good night's sleep every night, he often falls asleep very suddenly and at very inappropriate times. These sudden "sleep attacks" are the primary symptom of narcolepsy.

true; Narcolepsy is a rare sleep disorder characterized by periods of sudden, extreme sleepiness.

Stage 4 sleep is characterized by a large percentage of delta wave activity in the EEG.

true; Stage 1 generates mostly theta activity. Stage 2 is characterized by sleep spindles and K complexes. Stages 3 and 4 are characterized by delta activity.

There is no significant difference in the physiological effects of relaxation and meditation.

true; The physiological effects of meditation do not differ from those of relaxation: alpha activity and reduced arousal.

Biological clock research indicates that the hypothalamus probably is involved in controlling circadian rhythms.

true; The suprachiasmic nucleus of the hypothalamus has been linked to control of the biological clock that determines circadian rhythms.

Cocaine is classified as a hallucinogen.

false; Cocaine is a stimulant. Hallucinogens include LSD, marijuana, and mescaline, among others.

The dissociation theory of hypnosis is supported by research showing that people's expectations about hypnosis greatly influence their behavior while hypnotized.

false; Expectation effects support the social role-playing theory. "Hidden observer" effects support the dissociation theory.

Research suggests that visual neglect is caused by the brain's inability to process information coming in from one side of the environment.

false; Research shows that the information actually is processed, but that it does not reach conscious awareness. Processing occurs, but the resulting information is not consciously accessible.

According to the cocktail party effect, the brain does not process information unless the information has received our conscious attention.

false; The cocktail party effect demonstrates that information that has not had any attention is sometimes processed. Although a person is not paying attention to a conversation across a room, a person will notice if his or her name is spoken.

Freud proposed that a dream's manifest content reveals hidden, unconscious desires that are too disturbing to be expressed when waking.

false; The manifest content is the actual content of a dream. The latent content is the symbolic or psychological meaning of a dream, and this reveals hidden conflicts and desires

Synesthesia is most often associated with the use of:

hallucinogens; Synesthesia is a blending of sensory experiences, and it is typically associated with the use of hallucinogens, not stimulants. See pg.221

For several months now, Warren has gone to bed at his usual time, but has awakened at 2 a.m. He finds that no matter what he does, he can't go back to sleep after he wakes up at this early hour. It is likely that Warren is suffering from:

insomnia; Parasomnias is a category of sleep disturbances which includes nightmares, night terrors, and sleepwalking. See pg.215