PSYCH 1010 Final Exam

Explain how religious beliefs can affect the ability to cope with stress.

A belief in a higher power can be a source of comfort in times and stress. A person's church can be a vital part of their social-support system. Religion also helps people cope with stress through rituals (e.g., prayer) that help people feel better about personal weakness, failures, or feelings of inadequacy. Also, religious beliefs can give meaning to things that would otherwise have no meaning or purpose.

Explain the concepts of discriminant stimuli, extinction, generalization, and spontaneous recovery as they relate to operant conditioning.

A discriminative stimulus provides an organism with a cue for making a certain response in order to obtain reinforcement. - E.g., a police car is a discriminative stimulus for slowing down that is followed by negative reinforcement. Extinction in operant conditioning involves the removal of the reinforcement. - E.g., ignoring a child's tantrum will cause it to eventually stop. Operantly conditioned responses can be generalized to stimuli that are similar to the original. - E.g., a baby can call another man dad expecting to be treated in the same way as he or she is by his or her actual dad. Spontaneous recovery also happens with operant responses. - E.g., when first learning a new trick, an animal tries getting reinforcers by performing an old trick.

Describe the different types of love outlined in Sternberg's theory.

According to Sternberg, love consists of three basic components: - Intimacy = the feelings of closeness that one has for another person. *Friends have intimate relationships!!! - Passion = the physical aspect of love. *It is not just sex; holding hands and hugs can also be forms of passion. - Commitment = involves the decisions one makes about a relationship. Romantic love = type of love consisting of intimacy and passion. - Romantic love is often the basis for more lasting relationships. Companionate love = type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment. - In this type of love, people who like each other and understand one another's motives have made the decision to live together. Consummate love = consists of all three components of love and is the type of love most people see as the ultimate goal.

Explain how the different models of memory work.

According to the information-processing model, memory is processed in a series of three stages: encoding, storage, and retrieval. - This approach focuses on the way information is handled. - It implies that memory processes occur in a particular sequence. - This theory suggests that the length of time that a memory will be remembered depends on the stage of memory in which it is stored. -Provides a "big picture" view of how the various memory systems relate to each other. According to the parallel distributed processing (PDP) model, memory processes take place at the same time over a large network of neural connections. - This theory suggests that simultaneous processing allows people to retrieve many different aspects of a memory all at once, facilitating much faster reactions and decisions. - This model is less about the mechanics of memory and more about the connections and timing of memory processes. The levels-of-processing model assumes that information that is more "deeply processed," or processed according to its meaning rather than just its physical characteristics, will be remembered more efficiently and for a longer period of time.

Explain how aggressive behavior is determined by biology and learning.

Aggression can be defined as actions intended to harm physically or psychologically. The frustration-agression hypothesis states that agression is caused by frustration, or the failure to reach a desired goal. The social learning theory explanation for aggression is that aggressive behavior is learned by watching aggressive models get reinforced for their aggressive behavior. There is some evidence that agression has, at least partly, a genetic basis. High levels of testosterone and low levels of seretonin have been linked to aggression. Alcohol has been linked to more aggressive behavior. - It inhibits self-control. Some evidence suggest that even taking on a social role (i.e., the pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular position) can lead to an increase in aggressive behavior. - Zambardo's prison experiment shows this!!! Exposure to violent media and video games has also been linked to aggressive behavior.

Describe the different levels of attachment proposed by Ainsworth.

Ainsworth used the "strange situation" to measure levels of attachment. - Secure => happy when entering room with mother=> happily explored the place => calm when stranger walked in as long as mother stayed nearby => cried when mother left => very happy when mother came back. - Avoidant => did not look at stranger or mother => reacted very little to mother's absence and return. - Ambivalent => unwilling to explore => upset by stranger regardless of mother's presence => protested mightily when mother left => hard to soothe => had mixed reactions when mother returned. - Disorganized-disoriented => did not seem able to decide how to react to mother's return. Ainsworth found that the mother of each type of infant behaved differently: - Secure => mothers were loving, warm, sensitive to their infant's needs. - Avoidant => Mothers of avoidant babies were unresponsive, insensitive, and coldly rejecting. - Ambivalent => Mothers of ambivalent babies tried to be responsive but were inconsistent and insensitive to the baby's actions, often talking to the infant about something totally unrelated to what the infant was doing at the time. - Disorganized-disoriented => mothers were abusive and neglectful in interactions with the infant. Attachment is not necessarily the result of the behavior of the mother alone, however. - The temperament of the infant may play an important part in determining the reactions of the mother. Critics of Ainsworth's research focus on the artificial nature of the design.

Identify the three components of an attitude and how attitudes are formed.

An attitude is a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea, or situation. Attitudes can be formed by direct contact with the person, idea, situation, or object that is the focus of the attitude. - E.g., hating pizza after tasting it and disliking it. Attitudes can also be formed through direct instruction. - E.g., having a negative attitude towards smoking because one's parents taught them it was bad. Attitudes can also be formed by observing how other people react to a particular thing. An attitude consists of an affective, behavioral, and cognitive component. - The affective component of an attitude refers to how people feel about a particular thing. * E.g., finding country music pleasurable. - The cognitive component of an attitude refers to thoughts people have regarding a particular thing. * E.g., thinking that country music is this best type of music. - The behavioral component of an attitude refers to the actions taken by the individual in regard to the topic. * E.g., going to a country music concert. Studies show that attitudes are poor predictors of actual behavior. - Attitudes predict behavior only under certain conditions. - The more specific an attitude is, the likelier it is to predict behavior. * E.g., positive attitude towards "exercise and healthy diets" vs. "being healthy" - Strong attitudes are likelier to predict behavior than weak ones. - The importance of a particular attitude in a given situation also has an impact on behavior. * E.g., someone who is anti-smoking is more likely to confront smoking in a hospital than someone smoking in the street.

Identify the symptoms and risk factors associated with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.

Anorexia nervosa = condition in which a person reduces eating to the point that their body weight is significantly low, or less than minimally expected. - In adults, this is likely associated with a BMI less than 18.5. - Hormone secretion becomes abnormal, especially in the thyroid and adrenal glands. - The heart muscles become weak and heart rhythms may alter. - Other physical symptoms include diarrhea, loss of muscle tissue, loss of sleep, low blood pressure, and lack of menstruation. - Some people with anorexia will eat in front of others but then force themselves to throw up or take large doses of laxatives. - They are often obsessed with exercise and have extremely distorted body images. - This disorder has the highest mortality rate of any psychological disorder. Bulimia nervosa = a condition in which a person develops a cycle of eating enormous amounts of food at one setting, and then using unhealthy methods, such as vomiting, to avoid weight gain. - There are some similarities with anorexia: the victims are usually female, are obsessed with their appearance, diet excessively, and believe themselves to be fat event though they are not. * However, individuals with bulimia typically maintain a normal weight, making the disorder difficult to detect. * Also, individuals with bulimia tend to be older than those with anorexia. * The most notable difference between the two is that people with bulimia will eat, and eat in excess. - The binge itself may be prompted by a depressed mood, social stressors, feelings about body image, or intense hunger after attempts to diet. - Health consequences include severe tooth decay and erosion of the lining of the esophagus from the acidity of vomit, enlarged salivary glands, heart problems, and seizures. Binge-eating disorder = a condition in which a person overeats, or binges, on enormous amounts of food at one setting, but unlike bulimia, the individual does not use unhealthy methods to avoid weight gain. The greatest risk factor for all of these disorders appears to be being an adolescent or young female. Increased sensitivity to food and reward value may play a role in bulimia and binge-eating disorder, whereas fear and anxiety may become associated with food in anorexia, with altered activity or functioning of associated brain areas in each. Individuals with a history of neglect or abuse may also have a risk of having an eating disorder, particularly for those who are genetically vulnerable. For some eating disorders, particularly anorexia, there may be genetic influences but the actual expression or occurrence is culture-bound. - This explains why this disorder is more prevalent in some cultures than others. - In contrast to this idea, bulimia appears to be culture-bound and tied to Westerns ideas regarding thinness, with an excessive and improper influence of shape or weight on an individual's self-evaluation Eating disorders can occur in males. - Adolescent males are more likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder other than anorexia or bulimia. - However, when they do meet criteria, they are more likely to be diagnosed with anorexia than with bulimia, and they may be more likely to have had a previous diagnosis of ADHD. There is also a high rate of eating disorders among transgender individuals.

Identify different types of anxiety disorders and their symptoms.

Anxiety disorders = class of disorders in which the primary symptom is excessive or unrealistic anxiety. - In the context of anxiety disorders, the anxiety is either excessive or unrealistic. Free-floating anxiety = anxiety that is unrelated to any specific or known cause. Phobia = an irrational, persistent fear of something. - E.g., a person with a phobia of snakes would not only be scared of a snake in a zoo but also of a picture of a snake in a book. Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) = fear of interacting with others or being in social situations that might lead to a negative evaluation. Agoraphobia = fear of being in a place or situation from which escape is difficult or impossible. - People with specific phobias can usually avoid the object or situation that causes fear without too much difficulty, but people with agoraphobia cannot avoid their phobia's source because it is simply being outside in the real world. Panic attack = sudden onset of intense panic in which multiple physical symptoms of stress occur, often with feelings that one is dying. - Symptoms include a racing heart, rapid breathing, a sensation of being out of one's body, dulled vision or hearing, and sweating. - Most attacks peak within 10-15 minutes. - Not unusual, especially among young women. Panic disorder = disorder in which panic attacks occur more than once or repeatedly and cause persistent worry and changes in behavior. - Many people try to figure out what triggers a panic attack and then do their best to avoid the situation if possible. Generalized anxiety disorder = disorder in which a person has feelings of dread and impending doom along with physical symptoms of stress, which lasts six months or more. - People with this disorder worry about things normal people would not worry about. - They feel tense, edgy, get tired easily, and may have trouble concentrating. - It often occurs with other anxiety disorders as well as MDD.

Describe the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others.

Attribution is the process by which we try to explain our own behavior and that of others. Attribution theory states that we try to understand the behavior of others by attributing feelings, beliefs, and intentions to them. - People attribute either situational causes or dispositional causes to the behavior of others. * In the former, the cause of behavior is attributed to external factors. * In the latter, the cause of behavior is attributed to internal factors, such as personality or character. - There is an emotional component to these types of attributions. * E.g., when people are happy in a marriage, they tend to attribute a spouse's behavior that has a negative effect to an external cause. * The opposite occurs when people are not happy in a marriage. The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining someone else's behavior while underestimating situational factors. Actor-observer bias refers to the tendency to use situational attributions when explaining one's own behavior. Research suggests that the fundamental attribution error is not universal. - People in collectivist cultures tend to assume that external situational factors are more responsible for the behavior of others than internal dispositional factors. Research suggests that older adults are likelier to show the fundamental attribution error than younger people. Motive attribution asymmetry refers to a group's belief that their rivals are motivated by emotions opposite to their own.

Describe how some memories are automatically encoded into long-term memory.

Automatic encoding refers to the tendency of certain kinds of information to enter LTM with little or no effort. Flashbulb memories represent a type of automatic encoding that occur because an unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the person remembering it. - Emotional reactions stimulate the release of hormones that have been shown to enhance the formation of LTM. - Research suggests that flashbulb memories are not as accurate as they seem.

Compare and contrast potential explanations for depression and other disorders of mood.

Behavioral theorists link depression to learned helplessness Cognitive theorists point to distortions of thinking such as blowing negative events out of proportion and minimizing positive, good events. In the cognitive view, depressed people continually have negative, self-defeating thoughts about themselves, which depresses them further. - Learned helplessness has been linked to an increase in such self-defeating thinking and depression in studies with people who have experienced uncontrollable, painful events. - However, researchers have found that when therapists focus on helping clients change their way of thinking, depression improves significantly when compared to therapy that focuses only on changing behavior. * These results lend support to the cognitive explanation of distorted thinking as the source of depression - This link does not necessarily mean that negative thoughts cause MDD; it may be the other way around. The cultural and social environment that a person is exposed to may also play a role. - One study found that when comparing adolescents who were depressed to those who were not, the depressed group faced risk factors specifically associated with their social environment, such as being female or a member of an ethnic minority, living in poverty, and using drugs. - learned helplessness in the face of discrimination, prejudice, and poverty may be associated with depression in adolescents. Biological explanations of disordered mood focus on the effects of brain chemicals such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. - There is also strong evidence that genes play a role in these disorders. * This may explain why severe mood disorders are not a reaction to some outside source of stress or anxiety but rather seem to come from within the person's own body.

Identify potential causes of anxiety, trauma, and stress disorders.

Behaviorists believe that anxious behavioral responses are learned. - E.g., they see phobias as nothing more than classically conditioned fear responses. Cognitive psychologists see anxiety disorders as the result of illogical, irrational thinking patterns. - Magnification = the tendency to interpret situations as far more dangerous, harmful, or important than they really are. * E.g., thinking that an exam is the most important task you will ever complete and that if you do bad on it your entire life will be ruined. Cognitive-behavioral psychologists may see anxiety as related to all-or-nothing thinking, in which a person believes that their performance must be perfect or the result will be total failure. * E.g., if I do not get an A in every class I am taking and complete a million hours of shadowing I will not get into medical school. Overgeneralization, or interpreting a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat, and minimization, or giving little or no emphasis to positive events and traits, are other examples of irrational thinking. Overall, for many anxiety disorders, psychological approaches are the treatment of choice. There may be a genetic basis for many anxiety disorders. Drugs used to treat anxiety disorders impact GABA and others influence serotonin and norepinephrine. The amygdala is more active in individuals with PTSD and social anxiety disorder.

Identify models used to explain psychological disorders.

Biological model = model of psychopathology that proposes that psychological disorders have a biological cause, such as faulty neurotransmitter systems, genetic problems, and brain damage. Psychodynamic model = model of psychopathology that proposes that psychological disorders are the result of repressing threatening thoughts, memories, and concerns in the unconscious mind. Behavioral model = model of psychopathology that proposes that psychological disorders are learned through classical and operant conditioning as well as observational learning. Cognitive model = model of psychopathology that proposes that psychological disorders are the result of illogical thinking patterns. Sociocultural model = model of psychopathology that proposes that psychological disorders are the result of specific social interactions and are affected by culture. - Cultural relativity = the need to consider the unique characteristics of the culture in which the person with a disorder was nurtured to be able to correctly diagnose and treat the disorder. * E.g., Asian people suffering from disorders that would be labelled as depression or even schizophrenia in the West may report bodily symptoms rather than emotional or mental ones. - Cultural syndromes = sets of particular symptoms of distress found in particular cultures, which may not be recognized as an illness within the culture. - Cultural idioms of distress = terms or phrases used to describe suffering or distress within a given cultural context. - Cultural explanations = culturally defined ways of explaining the source or cause of symptoms or illnesses. Biopsychological model = model of psychopathology that proposes that psychological disorders are the result of the combined and interacting forces biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors.

Identify three types of environmental stressors.

Catastrophe = unpredictable, large-scale events that create a tremendous need to adapt and adjust as well as overwhelming feelings of threat. - Research shows that they can affect the unborn children of mothers who experience them. * The prenatal stress can have both short-term consequences (e.g., prenatal birth) and long-term consequences (e.g., lower-than-normal intelligence levels). Major life changes = life events that require people to significantly change, adapt, or adjust their lifestyles. - Whether positive or negative, they can be a source of stress. - Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) = assessment that measures the amount of stress resulting from major life events that have occurred over the last year of a person's life. *Each stressor in the SRRS has a point value. *If an individual has been affected by stressors that add up to a total of 300 points, they have a good chance of developing an illness or having an accident in the near future. - Illness can be either physical (e.g., stomach ulcers) or mental (e.g., major depressive disorder). * This system is a very good predictor. * The SRRS has been criticized for applying more to old people than young people. - Also, it is a bit outdated. - College Undergraduate Stress Scale (CUSS) = a version of the SRRS designed for college students. * Contains stressful events that are likely to happen to college students specifically. - All events listed in the SRRS and CUSS are stressful not because some of them are emotionally intense but also because there are many changes, adjustments, and frustrations that are caused by the events themselves. Hassles = the daily annoyances of everyday life. - Hassles Scale = assessment that measures the amount of stress experienced by a person caused by hassles. - The hassles that affect immediate health and well-being are good predictors of short-term illnesses such as headaches. - It is not so much the number of daily hassles that predicts short-term illness but rather the perceived severity of the hassles. - Hassles may be different for people in different developmental stages. * E.g., while younger people may find getting a bad grade to be the biggest hassle, older people may find shopping to be the worst.

Identify the key elements of classical conditioning as demonstrated in Pavlov's classic experiment.

Classical conditioning is a type of learning that occurs when a previously neutral stimulus, through repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus, eventually leads to a conditioned response. The repeated pairing of the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus is often referred to as acquisition. For classical conditioning to occur, the following things must happen: - During the acquisition process, the neutral stimulus must always come before the unconditioned stimulus. - The neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus must come very close in time. * They should be no more than 5 seconds apart. - The neutral stimulus must be paired with the unconditioned stimulus several times. - The neutral stimulus must stand out from other competing stimuli. Stimulus generalization refers to the tendency of responding to a stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response. - E.g., a dog salivates to a bell that sounds similar but not exactly like the one used to condition it. Stimulus discrimination refers to the process by which a person or animal stops making a generalized response to a stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus because the similar stimulus is never paired with the unconditioned stimulus. Extinction is the disappearance or weakening of the conditioned response following the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus. Spontaneous recovery occurs when the conditioned response reappears after extinction has occurred. - The response is usually weak and short lived. Higher-order conditioning occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus, causing the neutral stimulus to become a second conditioned stimulus. Stimulus substitution is the idea that the conditioned stimulus, through its association close in time with the unconditioned stimulus, comes to activate the same place in the animal's brain that was originally activated by the unconditioned stimulus. - Fails to explain why classical conditioning does not happen when the unconditioned stimulus occurs before the neutral stimulus. In classical conditioning, the cognitive perspective refers to the idea that conditioning occurs because the conditioned stimulus provides information or an expectancy about the coming of the unconditioned response. - It is supported by Rescorla's experiment with rats. * He divided a group of rats into two groups. * In one group, the rats received an electric shock while hearing a tone. * In the other, they received a shock after the tone stopped. * While the first group of rats reacted with fear to the onset of the tone, the second group reacted with fear to the termination of the tone. *Roscala concluded that it was the particular expectancy created by pairing the tone or absence of tone with the shock that determined the particular response of the rats.

Explain how people react when attitudes differ from behavior.

Cognitive dissonance refers to the sense of discomfort that is experienced when a person's behavior does not match their attitudes. When people experience cognitive dissonance, they become motivated to change something to reduce their discomfort. - People can either change their behaviors to fit their attitudes or change their attitudes to fit their behavior. - They can also create new cognitions to justify their behavior. In Festinger's study, male volunteers were asked to do a boring task and then tell new female volunteers that the task was enjoyable. - Male volunteers who were paid twenty dollars to do this felt no discomfort but those who were paid only one dollar did. - The male volunteers ended up convincing themselves that the boring task was actually fun in order to ease the discomfort they felt from lying. Cognitive dissonance theory has been challenged by other explanations. - E.g., Bem's self-perception theory states that instead of experiencing negative tension, people look at their own actions and then infer their attitudes from those actions.

Recall the basic criteria for critical thinking that people can use in their everyday life.

Critical thinking = making reasoned judgements about claims. - It includes the ability to ask and seek answers for critical questions at the right time. - It helps us avoid false beliefs that may lead to poor decisions or even prove dangerous to our mental and physical health. There are four basic criteria for critical thinking: - There are very few "truths" that do not need to be subjected to testing. - All evidence is not equal in quality. - Just because someone is considered to be an authority or to have a lot of expertise does not make everything that person claims automatically true. - Critical thinking requires an open mind.

Summarize Lazarus's cognitive appraisal approach to stress.

Cognitive-mediational theory of emotions = suggests that the way people think about and appraise a stressor is a major factor in how stressful that particular stressor becomes. - Primary appraisal = the first step in assessing stress, which involves estimating the severity of a stressor and classifying it as either a threat or challenge. * If a stressor is appraised as a threat, or something that could be harmful in the future, negative emotions may arise that inhibit the person's ability to cope with the threat. * If a stressor is appraised as a challenge, or something to be met or defeated, it is possible to plan to meet the challenge, which is a more positive and less stressful approach. -Secondary appraisal = the second step in assessing a stressor, which involves estimating the resources available to the person for coping with the stressor. * Resources may include social support, money, time, energy, and ability. * If resources are perceived as adequate or abundant, the degree of stress will be considerably less than if resources are missing or lacking. The cognitive reappraisal approach involves lessening the emotional impact of a stressful situation by reframing or reappraising the initial perception of it. - Researchers have found that instructing participants to reappraise their arousal while experiencing a stressor helps shift the negative effects of stress arousal to more positive effects.

Compare and contrast three compliance techniques.

Compliance refers to the process by which an individual changes his or her behavior as a result of other people asking for the change. - The person asking for the change typically does not have any real authority or power to command a change. Compliance techniques: - Foot-in-the-door technique = asking for a small request and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment. * If they follow the smaller request, people are likely to follow the larger request because they want to behave consistently with their previous response. - Door-in-the-face technique = asking for a larger request and, after being rejected, asking for a smaller commitment. * Because this strategy makes it seem like the person making the request is negotiating down, the person is more likely to comply with the second request. - Lowball technique = getting a commitment from a person and then raising the cost of the commitment. * The person asking for the commitment is not entirely honest at first. Do the effectiveness of these techniques differ across cultures?: - The foot-in-the-door technique is less effective in collectivist cultures because people in these cultures are less focused on inner motivation than those in individualistic cultures.

Identify factors that influence people or groups to conform to the actions of others.

Conformity refers to the process by which individuals change their behavior as a result of real or imagined group pressure. - Unlike obedience and compliance, conformity does not involve another person directly requesting or demanding the individual to change his or her behavior. Asch investigated conformity in his famous line experiment. - In the experiment, a participant was placed in a room with confederates. - The participant and confederates were then asked to match a line with another line that was the same size as the first. * The task was unambiguous. - In some trials, the confederates were told to give the wrong answer. - When this happened, despite knowing the right answer, many of the participants chose the wrong one. - After multiple trials, Asch found that the conformity rate was directly related to the amount of confederates in the room. - Also, if even one of the confederates chose the right answer, the conformity rate decreased significantly. - Asch concluded that the conformity observed in the study was a result of normative influence, or the tendency for individuals to conform in situations that may lead them to be disliked if they fail to do so. *The specific type of conformity that occurred in Asch's study is known as public conformity, in which an individual believes he is correct but remains silent because he or she does not want to disrupt the group. A second type of social influence that can lead to conformity is known as informational influence. - This type of influence occurs when an individual presented with an unclear or ambiguous situation decides to imitate the behavior of others around him or her. *When it comes to this type of influence, the individual believes that the group knows what is right. Research suggests that conformity has a greater effect in collectivist cultures. - This may be due to the fact that collectivist cultures value harmony. * In a collectivist culture, disrupting the group may be seen as selfish.

Explain how the constructive processing view of memory retrieval accounts for forgetting and inaccuracies in memory.

Constructive processing refers to the retrieval of memories in which those memories are altered, revised, or influenced by newer information. - Hindsight bias = the tendency to falsely believe, through revision of older memories to include newer information, that one could have predicted the outcome of an event. - Misinformation effect = the tendency of misleading information presented after an event to alter the memories of the event itself. - False-memory syndrome = the creation of inaccurate or false memories through the suggestion of others, often while the person is under hypnosis. * Research suggests that false memories are created in much the same way in the brain as real memories, especially when visual images are involved. * The formation of false memories involves lower-than- normal levels of activity in a part of the frontal lobe associated with doubt and skepticism. * In most cases, false memories must at least be plausible. - However, Loftus was able to get participants to form implausible false memories by providing false feed- back. * Two steps must occur for people to interpret false memories as true: - The events must be made as plausible as possible. - Individuals are given information that helps them believe that the event happened.

Distinguish between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies to reduce stress.

Coping strategy = action that a person takes to tolerate, reduce, or minimize the effects of a stressor. - Problem-focused coping = coping strategy in which the person tries to eliminate the source of stress or reduce its impact through their own actions. - Emotion-focused coping = coping strategy that changes the impact of a stressor by changing the emotional reaction to the stressor. * Emotion-focused coping works well for stressors that uncontrollable. * Ignoring a problem is not a good coping strategy when there is something that can be done to solve the problem. * Using humor can be a form of emotion-focused coping. - Research shows that laughing can boost the immune system and increase levels of health-protecting hormones. * Meditation = mental exercises meant to refocus attention and achieve a relaxed state. - It can help combat the physiological response to stress. - Concentrative meditation = form of meditation in which the person focuses the mind on some repetitive or unchanging stimulus so that the mind can be cleared of disturbing thoughts and the body can experience relaxation. * This type of meditation can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk for heart disease. - Mindfulness meditation = form of concentrative meditation in which the person purposefully pays attention to the present moment, without judgement or evaluation. * It helps reduce stress, improve control of both emotions and cognitions, increase a sense of well- being, and improve emotional health.

Explain how researchers use the correlational technique to study relationships between two or more variables.

Correlation = measure of the relationship between two or more variables. - If the correlation coefficient is close to 1 or -1, the two variables have a strong relationship with each other. - If the correlation coefficient is close to zero, the two variables have a weak relationship with each other. - If the correlation coefficient is positive, the two variables are positively correlated. - If the correlation coefficient is negative, the two variables are inversely correlated.

Differentiate among dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, and dissociative identity disorder.

Dissociative disorder = disorder in which there is a break in conscious awareness, memory, the sense of identity, or some combination of these. Dissociative amnesia = the individual cannot remember personal information such as one's own name or specific personal events. - It may sound like retrograde amnesia but it differs in cause. * In retrograde amnesia, the cause is typically physical injury. * In dissociative amnesia, the cause is psychological. - The reported memory loss is usually associated with a stressful or emotionally traumatic event. - It can be a loss of memory for one small segment of time, or it can involve a total loss of one's past personal memories. * These memories typically resurface, sometimes quickly and sometimes after a long delay. - Dissociate amnesia can occur with or without fugue. * Dissociative fugue = when a person suddenly travels away from home and afterwards cannot remember the trip or even personal information such as identity. - Such flights usually take place after an emotionally traumatic event. Dissociate identity disorder (DID) = disorder occurring when a person seems to have two or more distinct personalities within one body. - There may be a core personality, who usually knows nothing about the other personalities and is the one who experiences losses of memory. - Fugues are common in DID, with the core personality experiencing unsettling moments of awakening in an unfamiliar place or with people who call the person by another name. In some cultures, dissociative disorders are not perceived as a source of stress or a problem.

Identify some common reasons people forget things.

Encoding failure = the failure to process information into memory. Memory trace = a physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed. - over time, if these traces are not used, they may decay. Interference theory = the idea that memories in LTM may not always be accessible to attempted retrieval because other information interferes with them. - Proactive interference = memory problem that occurs when older information prevents or interferes with the learning or retrieval of newer information. - Retroactive interference = memory problem that occurs when newer information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of older information.

Identify the three processes of memory.

Encoding refers to the set of operations that people perform on sensory information to convert that information into a form that is usable in the brain's storage systems. Storage is holding on to information for some period of time. Retrieval refers to getting stored information into a form that can be used.

Distinguish between eustress and distress.

Eustress = the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being. - Describes the stress that occurs when positive events require the body to adapt. Distress = the effect of unpleasant and undesirable stressors. Arousal theory = based on the idea that a certain level of stress, or arousal, is necessary for people to feel content and function well. - This type of arousal is eustress!!! Although both eustress and distress produce similar bodily reactions, a more positive interpretation of a stressor leads to more positive coping with that stressor.

Compare and contrast the learning theories of Bandura and Rotter.

For behaviorist, personality is merely a set of habits, or well-learned responses that have become automatic. Social cognitive learning theorists believe that both the behavior of others and one's own experiences impact learning. - They believe that behavior is governed by both the environment and cognitive processes such as anticipation, judgement, and memory. Bandura proposed the idea of reciprocal determinism, which states that the environment, personal and cognitive factors, and present behavior can interact to determine future behavior. - One of the most important factors he talks about is self-efficacy, or an individual's expectancy on how effective his efforts to accomplish a goal will be in any particular circumstance. * Self-efficacy is affected by what has happened in similar circumstances in the past, what people have told them about their competence in a particular task, and their own assessment of their abilities. Rotter viewed personality as relatively stable set of potential responses to various situations. - Locus of control = the tendency to for people to feel like they either have or do not have control over what happens in their lives. * People who have an internal locus of control assume that that what happens in their life is affected by their own decisions. - These people tend to have high achievement mo- tivation. * People who have an external locus of control assume that what happens in their life is the result of outside influences. - These people tend to give up easily and often develop learned helplessness. - He believed that there are two factors that determine one's decision to act or not act in a particular situation. * Expectancy = a person's subjective feelings that a particular behavior will lead to a reinforcing consequence. * Reinforcement value = an individual's preference for a particular reinforcer over all other possible reinforcing consequences.

Explain how the mind and personality are structured, according to Freud.

Freud believed that mind was divided into three parts: the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind. - The conscious mind consists of every thought, emotion, and perception that we are aware of. - The preconscious mind consists of memories of things that we are not currently aware of but can become aware of. - The conscious mind consists of feelings, thoughts, and memories that we are not aware of and probably will never be aware of. * Freud believed that this aspect of the mind had a significant influence on behavior. Freud also believed that personality could be divided into three parts: - He defined the id as the part of personality that is completely unconscious and operates on a pleasure principle. * The id is motivated by a desire to obtain pleasure and is highly animalistic. * He believed that the id is present at the earliest stages of life. - He defined the ego as the part of personality that operates on a reality principle. *Unlike the id, the ego is rational and logical. - It determines whether obtaining pleasure is appro- priate in a given situation. * The ego is both conscious and unconscious. * It develops from a need to confront reality. - He defined the superego as the part of personality that acts as the moral center. * The superego consists of both the conscience and ego ideal. - The conscience consists of memories of things for which one has been punished or made to feel guilty. * It produces a sense of wrong. - The ego ideal, on the other hand, consists of me- mories of things for which one has been praised. * It produces a sense of right. According to Freud, psychological defense mechanisms are unconscious distortions of a person's perception of reality that reduce stress and anxiety. - Repression = keeping unpleasant or threatening impulses or events out of consciousness. * E.g., not being able to remember the detail's one one's rape. - Projection = placing one's own unacceptable thoughts onto others, as if the thoughts belonged to them and not oneself. * E.g., being in love with your cousin but dying this and instead believing that your cousin is in love with you. - Reaction formation = forming an emotional reaction that is opposite to one's unacceptable actual thoughts. * E.g., being attracted to people of your same sex but acting as a homophobe. - Sublimation = turning socially unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behavior. * E.g., enjoying to beat people up and hence becoming a boxer. - Compensation = trying to make up for areas in which a deficit is perceived by becoming superior in other areas. - Identification = trying to become like someone else to deal with one's anxiety. * Trying to behave like a celebrity to enhance one's self-esteem. - Rationalization = making up acceptable excuses for unacceptable behavior. * Thinking that it is okay to eat cake because you did not have breakfast. - Displacement = Expressing feelings that would be threatening if directed at the real target onto a less threatening substitute target. - Regression = falling back on childlike patterns as a way of coping with stressful situations.

Distinguish among the five psychosexual stages of personality development.

Freud proposed that personality developed in five psychosexual stages. - At each stage, he believed that a different erogenous zone, or area of the body that produces pleasurable feelings, can become the source of conflicts. - If the conflicts are not resolved, fixation occurs, in which the person develops traits associated with the stage in which the conflicts occur. The first stage of psychosocial development is the oral stage, in which the mouth is the erogenous zone and learning to eat food other than breastmilk is the conflict. - Children who stop being breastfed too late will become excessive eaters, extremely talkative, and dependent. The second stage of psychosocial development is the anal stage, in which the anus becomes the erogenous zone and the conflict is to become potty trained. - Children who openly refuse to become potty trained will develop an anal expulsive personality, which is characterized by messiness, destructiveness, and hostility. - Children who refuse to become potty trained because they are scared of making a mess will develop anal retentive personality, which is characterized by stinginess, stubbornness, and excessive neatness. The third stage of psychosocial development is the phallic stage, in which the genitals become the erogenous zone and the conflict becomes sexual awareness. - Boys develop castration anxiety and girls develop penis envy. - The oedipus/electra complex occurs, in which the child becomes attracted to the opposite-sex parent and develops feelings of jealousy towards the same-sex parent. * To deal with this, the child will repress their sexual feelings for the opposite-sex parent and begin to identify with the same-sex parent. - People who are fixated in this stage will later develop promiscuous behavior. The fourth stage of psychosexual development is the latency stage, in which the sexual feelings of the child are repressed and the child develops in other ways. - The focus in this stage is on social and intellectual skills. The fifth stage of psychosocial development is the genital stage, in which sexual urges are allowed back into consciousness and the individual moves towards adult social and sexual behavior.

Describe the stages of the general adaptation syndrome.

General adaptation syndrome = the three stages the body goes through in response to stress. - Alarm = when the body first reacts to a stressor, the sympathetic nervous system is activated. * The adrenal glands release hormones that increase heart rate, blood pressure, and the supply of blood sugar, resulting in a burst of energy. * Reactions such as fever, nausea, and headache are common. - Resistance = as the stress continues, stress hormones that help fight off the stressor continue to be released. * The early symptoms of alarm lesson and the person may actually feel better. * This stage continues until the organisms has used up all of its resources. * Norepinephrine in this stage may cause temporary analgesia. - Exhaustion = occurs when the body's resources have been used up. * Can lead to stress-related illnesses. - The prolonged secretion of stress hormones in this stage is responsible for the most harmful effects of stress. * When the stressor ends, the parasympathetic nervous system activates and the body attempts to replenish its resources.

Describe the different functions of glial cells.

Glial cells = cells that provide support for neurons to grow on and around, deliver nutrients to neurons, produce myelin to coat axons, clean up waste products and dead neurons, influence information processing, and, during prenatal development, influence the generation of new neurons. - During early brain development, radial glia help neurons migrate to form the outer layers of the brain. - Glial cells are being investigated for their possible role in a variety of neurodevelopmental diseases. - Glial cells play an important role in learning and neuroplasticity by affecting synaptic connectivity and facilitating communication between neurons in specific neural networks. - Oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells produce myelin, a fatty substance that coats axons. * The myelin sheath produced by these cells help pro- tect axons as well as speed up neural impulses. * Oligodendrocytes are located in the CNS; Schwann cells are located in the PNS. * The myelin produced by Schwann cells has a unique feature that can serve as a tunnel through which damaged nerve fibers can reconnect and repair themselves. - Myelin from oligodendrocytes lack this feature. - This may be why neurons in the CNS cannot be repaired so easily. * When the myelin sheath of a neuron is destroyed, the damaged neuron experiences diminished or complete loss of neural functioning. - This is what causes multiple sclerosis (MS). - Symptoms of MS include fatigue, changes in vision, balance problems, as well as numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness in the arms or legs.

Explain how our behavior is impacted by the presence of others.

Groupthink refers to a kind of thinking that occurs when people place more importance on maintaining group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of a problem with which the group is concerned about. Groupthink happens for a variety of reasons. - People in the group may have a false sense of invulnerability. * In other words, they may believe that the group can do no wrong, is morally correct, and will always succeed. - Moreover, people in the group may overcome doubt about the correctness of what they are doing by rationalizing their decisions. - Also, group members may have stereotyped views of those who disagree with the group's decisions, causing them to think that those who oppose the group have no worthwhile opinions. - Self-deception may also have an effect. * The group members may share the illusion that all of them agree with the decisions being made. - Insularity may also be present. *The group members may disrupt who have disruptive but useful information. Group polarization refers to the tendency for people who have engaged in a group discussion about a certain topic to have more radical opinions about that topic than people who have not participated in a group discussion. - This phenomenon is though to occur due to both normative and informational social influence. * The fact that other people agree with a more radical idea makes it seem more appropriate. * Furthermore, it makes it likelier that the idea is correct. Social facilitation refers to the tendency for the presence of other people to have a positive impact on the performance of easy tasks. Social impairment refers to the tendency for the presence of other people to have a negative impact on the performance of difficult tasks. Both social facilitation and social impairment are caused by physiological arousal. - In the former, the arousal is just enough to make the task easier to complete. - In the latter, the combined arousal caused by the difficulty of the task itself and the presence of other people actually impairs performance. Social loafing refers to the tendency for people to put less effort into a task when their are other people involved than when they are expected to complete it individually. - This is the result of a form of diffusion of responsibility. - This phenomenon is less likely to occur in more collectivist cultures, were the responsibility for a task is expected to be distributed equally among group members. Deindividuation refers to the lessening of personal identity, self-restraint, and the sense of personal responsibility that can occur within a group. - People in a crowd feel a degree of anonymity and are thus more likely to act impulsively as a result.

Describe the field of health psychology.

Health psychology is a field of psychology that focuses on how our physical activities, psychological traits, and social relationships affect our overall health and rate of illnesses. - Many health psychologists are interested in learning about how factors like poverty, wealth, religion, social support, personality, and even one's ethnicity can affect health.

What is homeopathy?

Homeopathy = the treatment of disease by introducing very low amounts of substances that would cause disease in larger doses. - There is no scientific support for the effectiveness of this type of treatment.

Explain how personality types and attitudes can influence people's reaction to stress.

How one cognitively assesses a stressor can depend on their personality. Type A personality = person who is ambitious, time conscious, extremely hardworking, and tends to have high levels of hostility and and anger. Type B personality = person who is relaxed and laid back, less driven and competitive than Type A, and slow to anger. In one study, men with Type A personalities were found to be three times more likely to develop heart disease than Type B men. - Hostility, or feelings of conflict and anger that are long-lasting, is the aspect of Type A personalities that is most correlated with CHD. Type C personality = pleasant but repressed person, who tends to internalize his or her anger and anxiety. - Type C people find expressing emotions difficult. - This personality has been associated with a higher risk of cancer. Type D personality = "distressed" personality type; person who experiences negative emotions such as anger, sadness, and fear, and tends to not share these emotions in social situations out of fear of rejection or disapproval. - This personality trait is both a risk for developing CHD and the overall prognosis of CHD. Not all Type A people are prone to hear disease. - Hardy personality = a person who seems to thrive on stress but lacks the anger and hostility of the Type A personality. * These people have a deep sense of commitment to their values, beliefs, sense of identity, work, and fa- mily life. * Hardy people tend to believe that they have control over their lives. * They also tend to interpret events in primary appraisal as challenges instead of threats. Criticism of personality theories: - They are somewhat simplistic. - Many people do not fall easily into one category. - Research regarding the links between personality types and illnesses is somewhat inconsistent. Optimist = person who expects positive outcomes; pessimist = person who expects negative outcomes. - Optimism is associated with a longer life and increased immune-system functioning. - Optimists are less likely to develop learned helplessness. - Optimists are more likely to engage in healthy lifestyles because they believe that what they do will make a difference in their lives.

Describe how people form impressions of others.

Impression formation refers to the process by which an individual forms a perception of another. - This process involves assigning the person to categories and drawing conclusions about what they are likely to do. - There is a primacy effect in impression formation. * This is why first impressions often persists even after they are shown to be inaccurate. Social categorization refers to the process by which an individual assigns a person that they just met to a category based on characteristics they share with other people whom the individual has had experience with in the past. - It is an unconscious process. - When the characteristics used to categorize a person are superficial ones that have become attached to certain ideas, this process can lead to the formation of stereotypes, or beliefs that certain characteristics are shared by all members of a particular social category. Implicit personality theories are sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are related to each other. - E.g., many people have an implicit personality theory that happy people are also friendly people. - Evidence suggests that implicit personality theories differ across cultures.

Identify the four schedules of reinforcement.

In a fixed interval schedule of reinforcement, the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is always the same. - Does not produce a fast rate of responding. - There is a scalloping effect (i.e., responding is very slow or nonexistent immediately following reinforcement, then progressively increases and is finally rapid just before another reinforcement is due). In a variable interval schedule of reinforcement, the interval of time that passes before the reinforcement becomes possible is different for each trial or event. - The rate of responding is slow but steady. *The graph is pretty much smooth! In a fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement, the number of responses required for reinforcement is always the same. - The rate of responding is very fast, and there are little breaks after reinforcement. In a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement, the number of responses required for reinforcement changes every time. - There is a rapid response rate and no breaks due to unpredictability.

Compare and contrast some of the methods used to describe behavior.

In naturalistic observations, researchers watch people (or animals) in their natural environment. - Advantages: * High ecological validity - Disadvantages: * Observer bias = the tendency of of observers to see what they expect to see. * Observer effect = the tendency of subjects to modify their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed) In laboratory observations, researchers watch people (or animals) in a laboratory. - Advantages: * Researchers have a high degree of control - Disadvantages: * Artificial behavior may result * Observer bias * Observer effect In case studies, an individual is studied in great detail. - Advantages: * These studies provide a tremendous amount of detail * Allow researchers to study things that they would no be able to study through experimentation - Disadvantages: * Findings cannot be generalized * Observer bias In surveys, participants are asked a series of questions regarding a topic that is being studied. - Advantage: * Reveal information about covert behavior * Great way to obtain private information - Disadvantage: * Participants could lie * Courtesy bias = when people choose the answer that is more socially correct rather than what they truly believe * Selection bias = the selection of participants in a way that proper randomization is not achieved

Describe theories of how prejudice is learned and how it can be overcome.

In social cognitive theory, prejudice is seen as an attitude that is formed in the same way other attitudes are formed (i.e., direct contact, direct instruction, vicarious conditioning, etc.) Realistic conflict theory states that prejudice and discrimination is increased between groups that are in conflict over limited resources. Social identity theory states that the formation of a person's identity within a particular group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison. - With respect to prejudice, social identity theory helps explain why people feel the need to categorize and stereotype others. *By doing this, they are able to compare themselves to the out-group in ways that raise their self-esteem. Stereotype vulnerability refers to the effect that a person's awareness of the stereotypes associated with their social group has on their behavior. - When people are aware of a stereotype that would normally be applied to their social group, they may become anxious about behaving in ways that might confirm that stereotype. - This anxiety may result in a self-fulfilling prophecy! * When it comes to performance contexts, this phenomenon is referred to as the stereotype threat. A recent study showed that some people can overcome feelings of stereotype threat by identifying themselves with a different social identity. - E.g., thinking about oneself as a student and not woman when taking a math exam. Research shows that intergroup contact under appropriate conditions can effectively reduce prejudice between majority and minority group members. - In order to prevent intergroup conflict, however, equal status contact (i.e., contact between groups in which the groups have equal status with neither group having power over the other) must occur. - Furthermore, the interaction must involve cooperation between the two groups. * One effective way of ensuring this is by making members of the two groups work together on a task that requires their cooperation for successful completion. - A "jigsaw classroom" is an example of how this could be done!!!

Describe how psychological disorders are diagnosed and classified.

In the United States, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is the main resource used in the diagnosis of psychological disorders. - In the DSM-5, each disorder is described in terms of its symptoms, the typical course the disorder takes as it progresses, and a checklists of specific criteria that must be met in order for the diagnosis of the disorder to be made. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project aims to be a biologically-valid framework for understanding mental disorders. One international resource used is the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). More than 20% of American adults experience a psychological disorder in a given year. Comorbidity is quite common. - E.g., their is a high rate of comorbidity between major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. In terms of psychological diagnosis and treatment, labels can be very helpful. - They allow psychological professionals to communicate clearly and efficiently, - They can also help patients receive effective treatment. Psychological labels are also long-lasting and powerful, affecting not only how other people see mental patients but how patients see themselves.

Summarize explanations for dissociative disorders.

In the older post-traumatic model, the core aspects of DID are viewed as resulting from trauma, although trauma does not always cause dissociation. According to the sociocultural model, in people with coexisting symptoms, DID may be unintentionally constructed by therapists cuing, media influences, and sociocultural expectations of what DID is supposed to be like. In the psychodynamic view, loss of memory of a traumatic event is adaptive and reduces the emotional pain. Cognitive and behavioral explanations for dissociative disorders are connected: the person may feel guilt, shame, or anxiety when thinking about disturbing experiences and thus start to avoid thinking about them. - This thought avoidance is negatively reinforced by the reduction of unpleasant feelings and eventually becomes a habit. Depersonalization/derealization disorder = a dissociative disorder in which people feel detached from themselves, their bodies, and their surroundings. - People with this disorder have lower brain activity in areas responsible for the sense of body awareness.

Explain how Köhler's studies demonstrated that animals can learn by insight.

Insight is the sudden perception of relationships among various parts of a problem, allowing the solution to the problem to come quickly. - Kholer's experiment with monkeys provided evidence for its existence. * A monkey was placed in a cage and a banana was placed just outside its reach. * For a long time, the chimpanzee failed to get it. * All of a sudden, however, it figured out a way to get it.

Explain the concept of instinctive drift.

Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to genetically controlled behavioral patterns. - E.g., when trying to teach a raccoon to put coins into a bucket using food as a reinforcer, the raccoon instead rubbed the coins together.

Identify factors involved in interpersonal attraction.

Interpersonal attraction can be defined as liking or having a desire for a relationship with another person. Research suggests that physical beauty is one of the main factors that influence an individual's desire to want to know someone better. The closer people are physically, the more likely they are to to form a relationship. - This is known as the mere exposure effect!!! People tend to be attracted to people who are similar to them. - This makes sense since people want the other person in the relationship to validate their beliefs and attitudes. People tend to like people who like them back. - This is known as reciprocity of liking!!! - The only time this fails is when a person suffers from feelings of low self-worth. * In this case, finding out that someone likes you when you do not like yourself makes you question their motives and consequently lead you to treat them poorly.

Describe how the neo-Freudians modified Freud's theory.

Jung disagreed with Freud about the nature of the unconscious mind. - He believed that there was not only a personal unconscious but a collective unconscious, which he believed consisted of memories shared by all members of the human species. * He referred to these universal human memories as archetypes. - He used the term persona to refer to the side of one's personality that is shown to the world. Adler disagreed with Freud over the importance of sexuality in personality development. - He suggested that young, helpless children all develop a feeling of inferiority when comparing themselves to the more powerful, superior adults in their world. - Adler believed that all humans are motivated by a desire to become superior. - He believed that the birth order of a child affected their personality. * Firstborns develop feelings of inferiority when their younger sibling is born and their parents place all their attention on them. - They compensate by becoming overachievers. * Middle children become very competitive. * Younger children feel inferior because they are not allowed the freedom and responsibility of older children. Horney disagreed with the idea of penis envy. - Instead, she proposed the idea of womb envy, stating that men compensate for their inability to bear children by striving for success in other areas. - Rather than focusing on sexuality, she focused on basic anxiety (i.e., the same anxiety proposed by Alder). - She believed that people who have less secure upbringings will develop neurotic personalities, which she defined as being characterized by maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships.

Explain the concept of latent learning.

Latent learning refers to learning that remains hidden until it becomes useful. - Its existence was evidenced by Tolman's experiment with rats. *Group 1 => put in maze + reinforced to get out of maze with food => after multiple trials, the rats solved the maze with no errors. * Group 2 => for the first ten days, rats were not given reinforcer => the rats wandered aimlessly and accidentally found the exit => after the tenth day, they were given reinforcement => the rats solved the maze almost immediately. *Tolman concluded that the rats in the second group had learned the maze but had not demonstrated this learning because there was no reason to do so (until after the tenth day).

Summarize Seligman's studies on learned helplessness.

Learned helplessness is the tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures. Seligman's experiment with dogs shows this phenomenon. - Dogs were given an electric shock after a tone => the dogs could not escape the shock => when the dogs were put in a situation where they COULD escape the shock, they did not. Seligman extended the concept of learned helplessness to explain aspects of MDD. - Depressed people often stay in unpleasant environments and relationships rather than trying to escape their situation. - Many have learned in the past that they have no control over what happens to them. Mair's research suggests that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is involved in determining what stressors are controllable. - The vmPFC inhibits the brain stem area and calms the amygdala's response, allowing an animal to effectively respond to a stressor and exhibit control. - It is possible that the dogs in the early studies, rather than learning to be helpless, were not learning how to relax and take control of the situation.

Define the term learning.

Learning can be defined as any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice.

Explain the process of long-term memory, including non-declarative and declarative forms.

Long-term memory (LTM) is the memory system into which information is placed to be kept more or less permanently. - In terms of capacity, LTM seems to be unlimited for all practical purposes. - Some memories are available but not accessible. - We only store long-lasting memories of events and concepts that are meaningful and important to us. Elaborative rehearsal is way of increasing the number of retrieval cues for information by connecting new information with something that is already known. - This type of rehearsal is a deeper kind of processing than maintenance rehearsal and so leads to better long-term storage. Non-declarative (implicit) memory is the type of LTM that includes memory for skills, procedures, habits, and conditioned responses. - These memories are not conscious but implied to exist because they affect conscious behavior. - They include emotional associations that may not be in conscious awareness. - The cerebellum and hindbrain are responsible for the storage of memories of conditioned responses, skills, and habits. - They are not easily retrieved into conscious awareness. Declarative (explicit) memory is the type of LTM that contains information that is conscious and known. - Semantic memory is the memory that contains general knowledge, such as the knowledge of language. - Episodic memory is the memory of personal experiences. * These memories tend to be updated and revised more or less constantly. Evidence suggests that women are better at retrieving episodic memories than men. The semantic network model of memory assumes that information is stored in the brain in a connected fashion, with concepts that are related stored physically closer to each other than concepts that are not related. - The PDP model can be used to explain how rapidly the different points on the networks can be assessed.

What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the strengthening of a synaptic connection that occurs when the synapse repeatedly fires. - Research suggests that LTP is the basis for LTM.

Describe different disorders of mood, including major depressive disorder and bipolar disorders.

Mood disorders = disorders in which mood is severely disturbed. Major depressive disorder (MDD) = severe depression that has a sudden onset and seems to have no external cause, or is to severe for current circumstances. - People with MDD are depressed for most of every day, take little or no pleasure in activities, feel tired, have trouble sleeping or sleep too much, experience changes in appetite and significant weight changes, experience excessive guilt or feelings of worthlessness, and have trouble concentrating. - Some people with MDD also suffer from delusional thinking and may experience hallucinations. - Death by suicide is the most serious negative outcome for people with MDD. - MDD is three times more likely to affect women than men. * This is true even across different cultures. * There is little evidence that hormonal differences are the cause of this disparity. * Studies have shown that the gender disparity in MDD prevalence is decreasing and virtually nonexistent in college students, leading some to believe that the disparity is caused more by social than biological factors. * A cognitive explanation for this disparity is that women tend to ruminate, or repeatedly focus on negative emotions, more than men. - Some MDD patients believe that their symptoms occur more frequently at certain times of the year. * These kinds of seasonal mood changes, sometimes called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), may be due to the body's reaction to decreased light in the winter. - There is some skepticism regarding SAD. Bipolar disorder = a mood disorder characterized by dramatic mood swings. - Manic = excessive excitement and energy. - Bipolar I disorder = the person experiences mood that spans from normal to manic and may or may not experience episodes of depression. * In the manic episodes, the person is extremely happy without any real cause to be so. * Restlessness, irritability, and seemingly unlimited energy are all common. - Bipolar II disorder = the person experiences spans of normal mood interspersed with episodes of major depression and episodes of hypomania, a level of mood that is elevated but less severe than full mania. - There seems to be a connections between ADHD and the onset of bipolar disorder in adolescence, but only a small percent of children with ADHD go on to develop bipolar disorder.

Explain the biological bases of memory in the brain.

Non-declarative memories seem to be stored in the cerebellum. STMs seem to be stored in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe. Memories related to fear seem to be stored in the amygdala. Sensory information seems to be temporarily stored in the thalamus for processing before leading for higher cortical areas. Declarative LTMs are also stored in the frontal and temporal lobes but not in the same places as STMs. Episodic memory retrieval seems to be partly a function of the posterior parietal cortex, while both encoding and retrieval of episodic memory seems to be related to activity in the poster cingulate cortex. Consolidation refers to the changes that take place in the structure and functioning of neurons when a memory is formed. - Memories of the same event may involve different parts of the hippocampus. In addition to the hippocampus, the posterior cingulate cortex also seems to be involved in the formation of LTMs. - It is often damaged in people with Alzheimer's disease.

Identify factors that make obedience more likely.

Obedience refers to the process by which an individual changes their behavior at the command of an authority figure. Milgram investigated obedience in his shock-delivering experiment. - In this study, participants were told that they had been assigned the role of either a teacher or student. - In reality, the participants were all teachers and the students were all confederates. - The participants were also told that the experiment was looking at the effect of punishment on learning behavior. - The teachers were told to deliver electric shocks -- which they believed to be real but were actually fake -- to the students if they answered a question incorrectly. - Even if the students begged the teachers to stop shocking them, if the teachers were told by the experimenter to deliver shocks with higher voltages, many continued to do so. - But, why would anyone do this? * In a foot-in-the-door type of process, the participants may have complied with higher voltages because they had already agreed to delivering smaller increments of shock. *Instead of obedience, the results of this study may be more about social identity. -The participants may have identified themselves more line with the experimenter than the learner and acted in a way that demonstrated their commitment to the larger scientific process rather than to the ordinary community * The participants may have believed that what they were doing would be good in the long run. Factors affecting obedience in Milgram's study: - Proximity to learner. * The closer the participant was to the learner, the less likely he was to deliver a shock. - Distance to authority * The closer the authority was to the experimenter, the more likely it was for him or her to deliver the shock. - Type of authority * The legitimacy of the authority did not need to be extremely high for obedience to occur. - Group support * If, in the case of two teachers, one of the teachers disobeyed, the other was likely to do so too.

Describe the process of observational learning.

Observational learning refers to the learning of new behavior through watching the actions of a model (i.e., someone else who is doing that behavior). - Bandura's bobo doll experiment shows evidence for this kind of learning. * Group 1 => children watched adult act aggressively towards bobo doll => when left alone with doll, the children in this group were more likely to act violently. * Group 2 => children watched adult act nicely towards the bobo doll => when left alone, the children did too. The fact that learning can take place without actual performance of the learned behavior is called learning/performance distinction. In a second study, the children watched the models interact with the Bodo doll on TV. - When the bad model was reinforced, the children were likelier to act violently. - When the bad model was punished, the children were less likely to do so.

List the four elements of observational learning.

Observational learning requires the presence of: - Attention * Certain characteristics of models can make attention more likely. - E.g., similarity to observer or attractiveness. - Memory * The learner must be able to retain the memory of what was done. - Imitation * The learner must be able to imitate the behavior. - Desire * The learner must have the motivation to perform the action.

Describe obsessive-compulsive disorder and stress-related disorders.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) = disorder in which intruding, recurring thoughts create anxiety that is relieved by performing a repetitive, ritualistic behavior or mental act. - People with OCD feel extreme anxiety if they are unable to perform the ritual. Acute stress disorder = a disorder resulting from exposure to a major stressor, with symptoms of anxiety, dissociation, recurring memories, sleep disturbances, problems in concentration, and moments in which the person seems to relive the event in dreams and flashbacks for as long as one month following the event. - The dissociative symptoms include emotional numbness and being aware of surroundings. When the symptoms of ASD last for more than one month, the disorder is called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). - Not everyone who experiences ASD will go on to meet criteria for PTSD, and not everyone who does not initially meet criteria for ASD will be in clear. - The symptoms of PTSD may not occur until six months or later after the event. - Women are two times more likely to develop PTSD and this likelihood increases if the traumatic event took place before the woman was fifteen. - Severe PTSD has been linked to decreased size of the hippocampus in children with the disorder. * This may have a negative effect on learning. - A study with veterans found that PTSD increases the risk for amnesia. - Individuals with PTSD process trauma-related information more effectively than individuals without PTSD.

Define abnormal behavior.

One way to define abnormality is to use a statistical definition. - Frequently occurring behavior would be considered normal, and behavior that is rare would be considered abnormal. - However, just because a particular behavior does not occur a lot does not mean it is abnormal. Abnormal behavior may also be seen as behavior that deviates from social norms. - However, deviance from social norms is not always considered abnormal. One sign of abnormality is when a person experiences a great deal of subjective discomfort, or emotional distress while engaging in a particular behavior or thought process. - However, some forms of disordered behavior involve feeling no emotions at all. Abnormal behavior is often maladaptive, or does not allow a person to function within or adapt to the stresses and everyday demands of life. - Maladaptive behavior or thinking may initially help a person cope with stress but has harmful or damaging effects. From a clinical point of view, abnormal behavior must meet at least two of the following criteria: - It is unusual - It goes against social norms - It causes significant subjective discomfort - It is maladaptive - It can cause the person to be dangerous to himself or others Psychological disorder = any pattern of behavior or thinking that causes people significant distress, causes them to harm others, or harms their ability to function in daily life.

Describe the concept of operant conditioning.

Operant conditioning refers to the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses. Based on his research with cats, Thorndike developed the law of effect, which states that an action followed by a pleasurable consequence tends to be repeated and vice versa. Skinner used Thorndike's ideas to come up with the idea of operant conditioning.

Define the term personality and identify several traditional perspectives in the study of personality.

Personality can be defined as the unique and relatively stable ways in which people think, feel, and behave. - Both character (i.e., the set of moral and mental qualities and beliefs that a person has) and temperament (i.e., the genetically-determined and enduring characteristics with which one is born) are parts of personality. The psychodynamic perspective of personality focuses on the role that the unconscious mind plays in personality development. The behavioral perspective of personality focuses on the effect of the environment on personality development. The humanistic perspective of personality focuses on the role of each person's conscious life experiences and choices in personality development. The trait perspective of personality focuses on describing personality and predicting future behavior based on personality.

Classify different types of personality disorders.

Personality disorder = disorder in which a person adopts a persistant, rigid, and maladaptive pattern of behavior that interferes with normal social interactions. Paranoid personality disorder = personality disorder in which a person exhibits pervasive and widespread distrust and suspiciousness of others. - It mostly affects males. - People with this disorder interpret he motives of others as having some hidden agenda or ill intent. - The paranoid individual is likely to carry grudges and not forgive any perceived trespasses. - If they are in a romantic relationship, they are more likely to suspect their partner of being unfaithful, and if they have other close ties, they are probably with those who have similar paranoid beliefs Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) = disorder in which a person uses other people without worrying about their rights or feelings and often behaves in an impulsive or reckless manner without regard for the consequences of that behavior. - It mostly affects males. - The person with ASPD may be irritable or aggressive. - These individuals may not keep promises or other obligations and are consistently irresponsible. - They may also seem indifferent or able to rationalize taking advantage of or hurting others. - They tend to be selfish, self-centered, and manipulative. Borderline personality disorder (BLPD) = maladaptive personality pattern in which the person is moody, unstable, lacks a clear sense of identity and often clings to others with a pattern of self-destructiveness, chronic loneliness, and disruptive anger in close relationships. - People with BLPD are intensely fearful of abandonment. - Life goals, career choices, friendships, and even sexual behavior may change quickly and dramatically. - Close personal and romantic relationships are marked by extreme swings from idealization to demonization. - Periods of depression are not unusual. - It affects women more than men. Dependent personality disorder = personality disorder in which the person is clingy, submissive, fearful of separation, requires constant reassurance, feels helpless when alone, and has others assume responsibility for most areas of their life. - They may need someone else to tell them what to wear, who to be friends with, or where to go to school. - They have little faith in being able to do things themselves and may be fearful of doing them too well out of fear of abandonment

Describe how attitudes can be changed.

Persuasion refers to the process by which one person causes another person to change their attitude towards something through argument, pleading, or explanation. Several factors impact the success of persuasion: - Source: there is a strong tendency to give more weight to people who are perceived as experts as well as those who seem trustworthy, attractive, and similar to the person receiving the message. - Message: messages that are clear and well organized are typically more effective. * Fear messages tend to be very effective. - Target audience: the characteristics of the people who are the intended target of the message are also important in determining its effectiveness. - Medium: the form through which a person receives a message is also important. The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion states that people will either elaborate on the persuasive message or fail to elaborate on it and that the future actions of those who do elaborate are more predictable than those who do not. - Central-route processing occurs when individuals pay attention to the content of the message itself. - Peripheral-route processing occurs when individuals pay attention to factors not involved in the message, such as the appearance of the source of the message, length of the message, and other non-content factors.

Recall two common sources of problems in an experiment and some ways to control for these effects.

Placebo effect = when the expectations and biases of the participants in a study influence their behavior. - E.g., Alzheimer's patients do better on a memory test due to their belief that a drug that they took worked. - One way to control for the placebo effect is through single-blind studies, in which participants do not know what group they have been assigned to. Experimenter effect = tendency of the experimenter's expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study. - E.g., a researcher accidentally gives participants clues on how they should respond through facial expressions. - One way to control for the experimenter effect is through double-blind studies, in which neither the participants nor the persons measuring the dependent variable know who is in what group.

Identify social and cultural factors that influence stress reactions.

Poverty is associated with higher levels of stress. - Poverty is often accompanied by multiple stressors: overcrowding, lack of medical care, noisy environments, increased rates of illness, violence, and substance abuse. - Because poverty disproportionately affects certain ethnic and racial groups, these factors affect stress levels too. Some stressors are related to a person's workplace. - These stressors can include heavy workloads, a lack of meaningfulness in work, lack of control over decisions, long hours, racism, sexism, and lack of job security. - Burnout = negative changes in thoughts, emotions, and behavior that occurs as a result of prolonged stress or frustration, leading to feelings of exhaustion. Some stressors may result from moving to a place with a different culture. - Acculturation = the process of adapting to a new culture. * Acculturative stress = stress resulting from the need to change and adapt one's behavior to that of a different culture. The way a minority chooses to interact with the majority culture has an affect on the amount of acculturative stress that is experienced. - Integration = the minority preserves their own culture and also adapts to the new culture. * It is usually associated with a very low levels of accul- turative stress. - Assimilation = the minority gives up their culture and adopts the majority one. * It leads to moderate levels of stress, most likely due to the loss of cultural patterns and rejection by other members of the minority culture that have not chosen assimilation. - Separation = the minority person choses or is forced to keep their culture and reject the majority culture. * Results in fairly high levels of stress, and that stress is even higher if that separation is forced rather than chosen. - Marginalization = the minority neither preserves their old culture nor adapts to the majority culture. * Results in the greatest amount of stress.

Distinguish between prejudice and discrimination.

Prejudice is a negative attitude held by an individual towards the members of a particular social group. Discrimination, on the other hand, is the action of treating people differently because of prejudice towards the social group they belong to. In-groups are social groups to which one belongs and out-groups are social groups that one does belong to. - Once an in-group is established, prejudice and discrimination towards an out-group is likely to follow, causing stress and a negative impact on the health of the out-group members. Microaggressions are seemingly harmless insults that are made by members of a dominant culture about minorities. When their are other pressures going on, such as war or economic difficulties, in-group members often feel the need to find a scapegoat, or members of an out-group who serve as targets for the frustrations and emotions of members of the in-group. - Scapegoats are usually the newest immigrants to an area.

Identify psychological factors in stress.

Pressure = the psychological experience produced by urgent demands or expectations for a person's behavior that come from an outside source. - It causes people to feel like they must work harder, faster, or do more work. - Time pressure is an example of this type of stressor. * This type of pressure has been shown to negatively impact creativity. Uncontrollability can also impact the degree of stress that is experienced. - The less control an individual thinks they have over a particular situation, the greater the degree of stress they experience. * In one study, residents in a nursing home that were given more control over their daily lives (e.g., by being being able to choose activities and their timing) ex- perienced significantly less stress than those who weren't. Frustration = the psychological experience produced by the blocking of a desired goal or fulfillment of a perceived need. - As a stressor, frustration can be external, such as when a car breaks down. * Losses, rejections, failures, and delays are all sources of external frustration. - International frustrations, in which the goal or need cannot be attained because of internal or personal characteristics, can also occur. * E.g., the frustration felt by someone who wants to be a doctor but is not good at science. - The degree of stress caused by a frustration depends on how important the goal that is blocked is to the individual. - People can respond in several different ways to frustration: * Persistence = the continuation of efforts to get around whatever is causing the frustration. - It may involve making more intense efforts or changing the style of response. - E.g., pushing a button multiple times with a greater force after a bending machine fails to deliver the desired snack. * Aggression = actions meant to harm an individual or group of individuals physically or psychologically. - Frustration-aggression hypothesis = the idea that frustration nearly always precedes aggression. * Frustration creates an internal readiness to aggress but that aggression will not follow unless certain external cues are also present. - E.g., if the source of frustration is a guy that is much buffer than you, you'll probably not act aggressively towards him. - Displaced aggression = taking out one's frustrations on some less threatening or more available target. * Escape or withdrawal = leaving the presence of the stressor, either literally or by a psychological with- drawel into fantasy, drug abuse, or apathy. Conflict = finding oneself torn between two or more competing and incompatible desires, goals, or actions. - Approach-approach conflict = conflict that occurs when a person must chose between two desirable goals. * E.g., choosing between a toy and a candy. * Leads to the least amount of stress. - Avoidance-avoidance conflict = conflict that occurs when one must decide between two undesirable events. * E.g., choosing between losing your daughter or donating your kidney to her. * It is usually much more stressful. - Approach-avoidance conflict = deciding whether to accomplish a goal that could have both positive and negative effects. * E.g., deciding on whether or not to attend UVA, which is a prestigious university but is very far from home, has a history of racism, and is expensive. * It is probably the most stressful type of conflict. - Double approach-avoidance conflict = choosing between two goals that both could have positive and negative effects. * Multiple approach-avoidance conflict is similar to this but there is more than two options involved.

Explain why chronic stress can increase the risk for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Prolonged stress can increase the risk for developing coronary heart disease (CHD), which occurs when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries. - Stress can increase the release of cytokines, small proteins involved in the inflammatory process. - Stress also affects the functioning of the liver, which is not activated while the sympathetic nervous system is aroused and does not have a chance to clear the fat and cholesterol from the bloodstream. * This can lead to clogged arteries. - There is a strong link between stress and obesity, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, and low levels of good cholesterol, all biological risk factors for heart disease. Prolonged stress can lead to weight problems, and weight problems can lead to type 2 diabetes. - Type 2 diabetes is typically caused by insulin resistance or an inability to produce normal levels of insulin and usually occurs in older individuals. - Insulin resistance has been linked to higher levels of cytokines. - Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for many other diseases, including Alzheimer's. * Furthermore, research shows that higher levels of stress can increase the rate of mental decline in Alzheimer's patients. Stress can lead to immunosuppression, making the unchecked growth of cancer more likely. - Natural-killer (NK) cells, which are responsible for suppressing viruses and destroying tumor cells, are negatively affected by prolonged stress. - Furthermore, high levels of stress hormones have been found to cause mutagenesis.

Identify the factors influencing why people help others.

Prosocial behavior refers to socially desirable behavior that benefits others. Altruism refers to prosocial behavior that is done with no expectation of reward and may involve the risk of harm to oneself. - Sociobiologists explain altruism as being motivated by a desire to preserve one's genetic material. * However, this only applies to situations in which a parent engages in this type of behavior to help their child. - Neuroscience research shows that the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) may be larger in individuals who make altruistic choices. The bystander effect refers to the finding that the likelihood of a bystander helping someone in trouble decreases as the number of bystanders increases. - This may be due to diffusion of responsibility (i.e., when an individual fails to take responsibility for actions or for inactions because of the presence of other people who are seen to share the responsibility)!!! Darley and Latane identified several decision points that a bystander must face before helping someone in trouble: 1) Noticing - May not happen if person does not sense or perceive the situation. 2) Defining an emergency - Pluralistic ignorance = apparently calm reaction of others leads to non-emergency interpretation. - Audience inhibition = fear of over-reaction leads to interpretation as non-emergency 3) Taking responsibility - Diffusion of responsibility 4) Knowing how to help the person - May not happen if person does not know how to help. 5) Taking action - May not happen if costs for helping are too high. Men are more likely to help if the subject is a women. Physically attractive people are more likely to be helped. People in a good mood are more likely to help than people in a bad mood, but are not likely to help if helping would destroy the good mood. Racial and ethnic differences between the victim and bystander decrease the likelihood of help.

Identify the effect of punishment on behavior.

Punishment refers to any event or stimulus that, when following a response, makes the response less like to happen again. - Punishment by application involves adding an unpleasant stimulus. - Punishment by removal involves removing a pleasant stimulus. Punishment only serves to suppress behaviors temporarily. - As time goes on, the punishment is forgotten and the bad behavior may occur again in a kind of spontaneous recovery. Punishment by application can be quite severe, and severe punishment stops a behavior immediately. - It should only be used to immediately stop dangerous behavior. Problems with severe punishment: - Severe punishment may cause the child to avoid the punisher instead of the behavior being punished. - Severe punishment may encourage lying to avoid the punishment. - Severe punishment creates fear and anxiety, emotional responses that hinder learning. - Hitting provides a successful model for aggression. *E.g., the bobo doll experiment! - Since severe punishment tends to stop the undesirable behavior, at least for a while, the parent who is punishing experiences a kind of negative reinforcement. *This may increase the tendency to use aggressive punishment over other forms of discipline, which could lead to child abuse. The following rules must be followed in order for punishment to be effective: - Punishment should immediately follow the behavior it is meant to punish. - Punishment should be consistent. * The parent should follow through and do what he or she promised to do. * Punishment for a particular behavior should stay at the same intensity or increase slightly. - The punishment should not be less intense the second time the behavior occurs! - Punishment of the wrong behavior should be paired, whenever possible, with reinforcement of the right behavior. * This allows one to teach the desired behavior rather than just suppress the undesired behavior. * This allows parents to use a much milder punishment that is still very effective.

Differentiate the retrieval processes of recall and recognition.

Recall is a type of memory retrieval in which the information to be retrieved must be "pulled" from memory with very few external cues. - E.g., answering short answer questions - The tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon refers to the experience of feeling confident that one knows an answer, yet is unable to verbally produce it. *Evidence suggests that TOT is associated with the fusiform gyrus. - The serial position effect is the tendency to remember information at the beginning and end of a list better than the rest. * Primacy effect => due to the fact that initial informa- tion is rehearsed more. * Recency effect => due to the fact that later informa- tion is still in STM for easy retrieval. Recognition involves matching a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact. - It is usually much easier than recall because the cue is the actual thing that one is trying to detect as known. - It tends to be very accurate for images, especially human faces. * A false positive is when a person thinks he or she has recognized something or someone but in fact does not have that something or someone in memory. - E.g., this is a huge problem in eye witness testimonies!!! The testing effect refers to the fact that LTM is increased when one practices retrieving the information to be learned.

Differentiate between primary and secondary reinforcers and positive and negative reinforcement.

Reinforcement refers to any event or stimulus that, when following a response, increases the probability that the response will happen again. - A primary reinforcer is naturally reinforcing by meeting a basic biological need, such as hunger. - A secondary reinforcer becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars. *Secondary reinforcers get their power from the pro- cess of classical conditioning. - Positive reinforcement is the reinforcement of a response by the addition of a pleasurable stimulus. - Negative reinforcement is the reinforcement of a response by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus.

Explain the action potential.

Resting potential = the state of a neuron when it is not firing a neural impulse. - At rest, the relative charge of ions inside the cell is mostly negative, and the relative charge of ions outside the cell is mostly positive. * This is due to diffusion, the process of ions moving from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration, and electrostatic pressure, the relative balance of electrical charges when the ions are at rest. - Outside a neuron are lots of positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions, but they are unable to enter the cell membrane when the cell is at rest because the ion channels that would allow them in are closed. * But, because these ions are attracted to the negative charge inside the neuron, they cluster around its membrane. Action potential = the release of the neural impulse, consisting of a reversal of the electrical charge within the axon. - When a cell receives a strong enough stimulus from another cell, the cell membrane opens its voltage-gated sodium channels. - Due to electrostatic attraction, these ions immediately rush into the cell, making the inside more positive. - This depolarization process typically starts at the axon hillock, or the part of the axon closest to the soma. After the neuron is depolarized, the voltage-gated sodium channels close, preventing more sodium ions from coming in, and voltage-gated potassium channels open, causing positively charged potassium ions to leave the cell. - This process is called hyperpolarization because the membrane charge goes beyond its original resting potential. - Eventually, sodium-potassium pumps in the membrane allow the original resting potential to be restored. Neurons actually have a threshold for firing, and all it takes is a stimulus just strong enough to get past that threshold to make the neuron fire. - Each neuron receives many signals from other neurons. - Some of these signals are meant to cause the neuron to fire, whereas others are meant to prevent the neuron from firing. - The neuron constantly adds up the effects of these messages, and if the total sum of these effects is great enough, the threshold is crossed and the neuron fires. - When a neuron does fire, it does so in an all-or-none fashion, meaning that it either fires completely or does not do so at all.

Describe how humanists such as Carl Rogers explain personality.

Rogers believed that humans are always striving to reach their full potential. - He referred to this idea as self-actualization tendency. He believed that the development of a self-concept, or the image of oneself that develops from interactions with important people in one's life, is essential to self-actualization. - Real self = one's actual perception of their characteristics, traits, and abilities. - Ideal self = one's idea of what they should be like. When the real self and ideal self are similar, the person feels competent and capable. - But, when there is a mismatch, neurotic behavior can result. Rogers believed that unconditional positive regard -- and not conditional positive regard -- was necessary for self-actualization. Rogers defined a full-functioning person as one that is in touch with their deepest, innermost urges and feelings.

Describe types of sexual dysfunction and explain how they may develop.

Sexual dysfunction = a problem with sexual functioning. - 40% of women and 30% of men have at least one sexual dysfunction, and this percentage increases with age. Some sexual dysfunctions are caused organic factors, or biological sources. - Organic problems include physical problems such as illnesses, the side effects of medications, and even the use of illegal drugs. Sociocultural influences on sexual attitudes and behavior also exist and may be a source of psychological stress leading to sexual dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction can also be caused by psychological factors such as low self-esteem, anxiety over performance of the sex act, depression, self-consciousness about one's body image, anxiety disorders, or a history of previous sexual abuse or assault.

Distinguish between the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia = severe disorder in which the person suffers from disordered thinking, hallucinations, and the inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality. - It is a psychotic disease, meaning that the individual cannot separate what is real and not real. - It typically arises in the late teens or early twenties, affects both males and females, and is consistent across cultures. Schizophrenia includes several kinds of symptoms: - Delusions = false beliefs held by a person who refuses to accept evidence of their falseness. * Delusions of persecution = person believes that others are trying to hurt them. * Delusions of reference = person thinks that other people, TV characters, and even books are specifi- cally talking to them. * Delusions of influence = person thinks they are being controlled by external forces, such as satan. * Delusions of grandeur = person is convinced that they are powerful and can save the world. - Speech disturbances are common. * People with schizophrenia make up words, repeat words and sentences, engage in clanging (or string words together based on sounds), and experience sudden interruptions in speech and thought. - Attention deficits are also a symptom of this disorder. - Hallucinations = false sensory perceptions, such as hearing voices that do not really exist. * Hearing voices is probably the most common hallu- cination in people with this disorder. - Emotional disturbances are also a symptom. * Flat affect = condition in which the person shows little or no emotion. * Emotions can also be excessive or inappropriate. - Catatonia = disturbed behavior ranging from statue-like immobility to bursts of energetic, frantic movement and talking. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be group into two categories: - Positive symptoms = behavior that is not present in non-schizophrenic individuals that is present in schizophrenic individuals. * E.g., hallucinations and delusions - Negative symptoms = behavior that is present in non-schizophrenic individuals that is not present in schizophrenic people. * E.g., poor attention, flat affect, and speech problems. At least two or more of the following symptoms must be present frequently for at least 1 month to diagnose schizophrenia: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, negative symptoms, and grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, and at least one of the two symptoms has to be delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech.

Identify the steps involved in designing an experiment.

Selecting the participants: - Researchers should select participants through random selection. Picking the variables: - An independent and dependent variable should be determined. - Operationalization = specific description of a variable of interest that allows it to be measured. Picking the groups: - In addition to experimental groups, the experiment should include a control group to draw comparisons from. Random assignment to the groups: - In order to minimize the effects of extraneous variables, participants should be randomly assigned to the groups.

Describe the process of sensory memory.

Sensory memory is the very first system in memory, in which raw information from the senses is held for a very brief period of time. - Iconic memory refers to visual sensory memory, lasting only a fraction of a second *Sperling used the partial report method to find that iconic memory has a very high capacity but can only hold sensory information for a very short period of time. * Masking refers to the process by which information that has just entered iconic memory is pushed out very quickly by new information. * Eidetic imagery is the ability to access a visual memory for 30 seconds or more. * Iconic memory gives the brain stem enough time to decide if sensory information is important enough to be brought into consciousness. - Echoic memory refers to auditory sensory memory, lasting about 2-4 seconds. * This type of memory explains the "what?" phenomenon. * Its capacity is limited to what can be heard at any one moment and is smaller than that of iconic memory, although it lasts longer.

Describe how operant conditioning is used to change animal and human behavior.

Shaping is the reinforcement of simple steps in behavior through successive approximations that lead to a desired, more complex behavior. - During this process, small steps towards an ultimate goal are reinforced until the goal itself is reached. Behavior modification is the use of learning techniques to modify or change undesirable behavior and increase desirable behavior. - A token economy refers to the use of tokens to modify behavior. * In a token economy, tokens serve as a secondary reinforcer that can be accumulated and exchanged for desired items or privileges. - Being put in time-out can also be used to modify behavior. * Reinforcement in the form of attention is removed, making the undesired behavior less likely to reoccur. * When used with children, a time-out should be limited to 1 minute for each year of age, with a maximum time- out of 10 minutes. - Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a type of behavior modification that uses both analysis of current behavior and behavioral techniques to address a socially relevant issue. *In ABA, skills are broken down to their simplest steps and then taught to the child through a system of re- inforcement. *Typical uses for ABA are treating children with disorders, training animals, and developing effective teaching methods for children and adults of all levels of mental abilities. - E.g., a psychologists used small pieces of candy as reinforcers to teach social skills and language to children with ASD. - Biofeedback is the use of feedback about biological conditions to bring involuntary responses, such as blood pressure, under voluntary control. *Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback that uses feedback about brain activity to modify behavior. -Neurofeedback can be integrated with video game like programs that individuals can use to learn how to produce brain waves or specific types of brain activity associated with specific cognitive or behavioral states

Describe short-term memory, and differentiate it from working memory.

Short-term memory (STM) is the memory system in which information is held for brief periods of time while being used. Selective attention is the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input. - It determines what information enters STM. - Broadbent's filter theory of attention suggests that a sort of "bottleneck" occurs between sensory memory and STM that allows only important information to reach the latter. *It fails to explain the "cocktail-party effect" (E.g., when, despite not paying attention to background noise, you notice someone calling your name). Treisman proposed that selective attention operates in a two-stage filtering process. - First, incoming stimuli in sensory memory are filtered on the basis of simple physical characteristics. * Instead of being lost, there is only a lessening (attenuation) of the signal strength of unselected stimuli. - Second, only the stimuli that meet a certain threshold of importance are processed. * Even when deeply asleep, selective attention still functions. - Sleeping mothers will wake up to their child's crying. Although some images are stored in STM in a kind of visual sketchpad, auditory information accounts for much of short-term encoding. - E.g., even a dancer planning out moves will not only visualize them but also verbally describe them. Working memory refers to an active system that processes the information in STM. - The central executive controls and coordinates the other two systems. - The visuospatial sketchpad handles visual and spatial information. - The phonological loop handles auditory information. Miller used the digit-span test to conclude that the capacity of STM is about 7 (+ or - 2) items. - However, current research shows that this varies between individuals. Miller also found that the capacity of STM could be enhanced through chunking (i.e., combining individual pieces of information into meaningful units). Maintenance rehearsal is the practice of saying some information to be remembered over and over again in one's head in order to maintain it in STM. - With this type of rehearsal, information will stay in STM until rehearsal stops. - When rehearsal stops, the memory rapidly decays and is forgotten. - If anything interferes with this rehearsal, memories are also likely to be lost.

Define social cognition.

Social cognition refers to the mental processes that people use to make sense of the social world around them.

Explain how a social-support system influences a person's ability to cope with stress.

Social-support system = the network of family, friends, coworkers, and others who can offer support, comfort, or aid to a person in need. - That help can come in the form of advice, monetary support, love and affection, or companionship. - People with good social-support systems are able to better cope with stressors. - Social support has a positive affect on the immune system. There is a theory that gender affects how people cope with stress. - While men tend to deal with stress by preparing to fight or flee, women are more likely to restore to more socially oriented behavior. - If there is an actual enemy, women may try to befriend the enemy, or if no enemy is present, they may seek out social support. - This is known as the tend-and-befriend theory.

Explain why psychologists sometimes use animals in their research.

Some important questions can be difficult or dangerous to answer with humans. Animals are easier to control. - The scientist can control diet, living arrangements, and even genetic relatedness. Animals generally have shorter lives. - This makes it easier to study long-term effects. When studying animals, researchers should make sure to avoid any unnecessary pain or suffering to the animals.

Define stress.

Stress = the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging. - The appraised part of this definitions accounts for the fact that an event perceived as stressful by one individual may not be perceived this way by another. - Also, this definition suggests that stressful events can be perceived as either threats or challenges. *Whereas a threat is always perceived as something negative, a challenge is not.

Distinguish between surface and source traits.

Surface traits refer to aspects of personality that can be seen easily by other people in the overt actions of a person. Source traits are the traits that underlie surface traits, forming the core of personality. Shyness is a surface trait and introversion, or the tendency to withdraw from excessive stimulation, is a source trait.

What is the 16PF questionnaire?

The 16PF questionnaire is a test meant to assess personality by looking at where individuals fall on a continuum for every trait.

Describe the neural basis of learning.

The anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens are involved in learning. - Both of these areas are involved in the release of dopamine. Dopamine amplifies some signals and decreases the intensity of others in the nucleus accumbens. - Dopamine is the signal that tells our brain to repeat an action if it results in a positive consequence.

Define anxiety.

The anticipation of some future threat, often associated with worry, vigilance, and muscle tension.

Describe Ebbinghaus's "curve of forgetting."

The curve of forgetting is a graph that shows a distinct pattern in which forgetting is very fast within the first hour after learning a list and then tapers off gradually. Distributed practice (i.e., spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods) produces far better retrieval of information than massed practice (i.e., the attempt to study a body of material all at once).

Identify the parts of the neuron and the function of each.

The dendrites of a neuron pick up neural messages from other neurons. The axon of a neuron carries neural messages out to other neurons. The soma of a neuron contains most of its organelles and is responsible for keeping the neuron alive. The axon terminals are located at the ends of an axon and are responsible for communicating with other cells.

Apply classical conditioning to examples of phobias, taste aversions, and drug dependency.

The learning of phobias is an example of a conditioned emotional response. Vicarious conditioning is the conditioning of an involuntary response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person. - E.g., developing a phobia of dogs from watching a mother's reaction to them. Conditioned taste aversion refers to the development of a nausea or aversive response to a particular taste because that taste was followed by a feeling of sickness. - This type of conditioning occurs after only one association. Biological preparedness refers to the fact that some associations are easier to make than others by animals of a particular species. - While mammals are biologically prepared to associate taste with illness, birds are biologically prepared to associate visual characteristics with illness. The "high" of drug use often takes place in certain surroundings, with certain people, and perhaps even using certain objects. - These people, settings, and objects can become conditioned stimuli that are associated with the "high" and can produce a conditioned "high" response. *This makes it harder to resist the drug!!!

Identify the effects of cues on memory retrieval.

The more retrieval cues stored with a piece of information, the easier the retrieval of that information will be. Encoding specificity is the tendency for memory of information to be improved if related information (such as surrounding or physiological state) that is available when the memory is first formed is also available when the memory is being retrieved. - Context-dependent learning vs. state-dependent learning!!!

Describe the partial reinforcement effect.

The partial reinforcement effect is the tendency for a response that is reinforced after some, but not all, correct responses to be very resistant to extinction.

Summarize the basic ideas behind the seven modern perspectives in psychology.

The psychodynamic perspective emphasizes unconscious psychological processes. - It contends that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping adult personality. The behavioral perspective assumes that behavior results from learning and experience. - It focuses on observable behavior, such as classical and operant conditioning. The humanistic perspective contends that people have free will and strive for self-actualization. The cognitive perspective focuses on mental processes, such as memory, perception, problem solving, and language. The sociocultural perspective combines social psychology (the study of groups, social roles, and relationships) and cultural psychology (the study of cultural norms, values, and expectations). The biopsychological perspective contends that human and animal behaviour results from biological processes in the body. The evolutionary perspective focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics. - It views the mind as a set of information-processing machines that have evolved to help humans survive.

Identify some of the common ethical guidelines for doing research with people.

The rights and well-being of participants must be weighed against the study's value to science. - People should always come first and the study second. - Undue stress must be prevented. Participants must be allowed to make an informed decision about participation. - Researchers must explain the study to the participants before they do anything to them. * This is called briefing. - Participants must give informed consent. Deception must be justified. - The participants have to be told after the study why the deception was important. * This is called debriefing. Participants may withdraw from the study at any time. Participants must be protected from risks or told explicitly of risks. Data must remain confidential. If for any reason a study results in undesirable consequences for the participant, the researcher is responsible for detecting and removing or correcting these consequences.

Identify potential causes of personality disorders.

There is some evidence for genetic factors in personality disorders. - Close relatives of people with these disorders have been shown to be more likely to develop them as well. Antisocial personalities are emotionally unresponsive to stressful or threatening situations when compared to others. - This unresponsiveness seems to be linked to lower than normal levels of stress hormones in antisocial persons Disturbances in family relationships and communication have also been linked to personality disorders and, in particular, to antisocial personality disorder - Childhood abuse, neglect, overly strict parenting, overprotective parenting, and parental rejection have all been put forth as possible causes.

Describe how neurons use neurotransmitters to communicate with each other and with the body.

When an action potential reaches the axon terminals, synaptic vesicles in these terminals release their neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft through exocytosis. - These neurotransmitters then bind to receptor sites in the postsynaptic membrane, causing ion channels in this membrane to open. - Depending on whether the synapse is inhibitory or excitatory, the inside of the postsynaptic neuron will either become polarized or depolarized. - If the neuron is depolarized, it will carry its action potential to the next cell, which could be another neuron or a cell on a muscle or gland. Antagonist = a chemical substance that blocks or reduces the effects of a neurotransmitter Agonist = a chemical substance that mimics or enhances the effects of a neurotransmitter Acetylcholine (ACh) = neurotransmitter that controls muscle contractions and is also involved in arousal, attention, and memory. - It can be both excitatory and inhibitory. * E.g., although it stimulates skeletal muscles, it actually slows down cardiac muscles. - ACh is found in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is responsible for forming new memories. * Also, low levels of ACh are associated with Alzheimer's. Dopamine (DA) = neurotransmitter that is involved in control of movement and sensations of pleasure. - It can be both excitatory and inhibitory. - Parkinson's disease is associated with low levels of dopamine in the basal ganglia. - Schizophrenia is associated with high levels of dopamine in a different brain area. Serotonin (5-HT) = neurotransmitter released by the raphe nuclei that is involved in sleep, mood, anxiety, and appetite. - It can be both excitatory and inhibitory. - Low levels of 5-HT activity have been linked to depression. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) = the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. - It is involved in sleep and inhibits movement. - Alcohol is a GABA agonist. Glutamate = the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. - It is involved in learning, memory formation, nervous system development, and synaptic plasticity. - An excess of glutamate results in neuronal damage and may be associated with the cell death that occurs after strokes or head injuries as well as in degenerative diseases. Norepinephrine (NE) = neurotransmitter that is involved in arousal and mood. - It is mainly excitatory. Endorphins = Inhibitory neural regulators involved in pain relief. - When people take morphine or heroin, their bodies stop producing endorphins. - When the drug wears off, they are left with no protection against pain at all, and everything hurts. - This pain causes the person to want more heroin, creating an addictive cycle of abuse. Reuptake = process by which neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles. - This process allows the synapse to be cleared for the next release of neurotransmitters. Because ACh is responsible for muscle activity, and muscle activity needs to happen constantly, reuptake is not an option for ACh. - Instead, an enzyme specifically designed to break apart ACh clears the synaptic gap very quickly. * This process is called enzymatic degradation.

Evaluate the biological and environmental influences on schizophrenia.

When trying to explain the cause or causes of schizophrenia, biological models and theories prevail, as it appears to be most likely caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. - High levels of dopamine have been associated with schizophrenia. * However, it is also true that the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in planning and organizing infor- mation, has lower levels of dopamine in individuals with schizophrenia, which results in attention deficits and poor organization of thought. - The prevalence of this disorder does not vary significantly across cultures. * This shows that environmental factors are probably not the main ones contributing to schizophrenia. - Research has found a strong genetic risk associated with a gene that plays a part in synaptic pruning during development. * In individuals with schizophrenia that have this gene, synaptic pruning appears to get out of control during adolescence, leading to the removal of too many connections between neurons. * It is important to note that many genetic variants like- ly contribute to schizophrenia. - Stress-vulnerability model = explanation of schizophrenia that assumes that a biological sensitivity to the disorder will result in the development of the disorder under the right conditions of environmental or emotional stressors. - The cingulate bundle that links the limbic system and frontal lobe to the temporal lobe is less myelinated in people with schizophrenia. * This may result in decreased memory and decision-making ability.

Explain how the immune system is impacted by stress.

When white blood cells encounter an infection in the body, they surround the bacteria or other infectious material and release chemicals into the blood stream. - These chemicals activate receptor sites on the vagus nerve, which connects the body to the brain. - The activation of these receptors signals the brain that one is sick, causing the brain to respond by further activation of the immune system - Stress activates this same system but the process starts in the brain rather than the bloodstream. - Thus, acute stress can actually lead to immunoenhancement. Hormones may play a part in helping the immune system fight the effects of stress. - DHEA, for example, may aid people in stress toleration by regulating the effects of stress on the hippocampus. When stress is chronic, it may lead to immunosuppression. - One explanation for why chronic stress is so harmful is that stress evolved for short-term responses (e.g., running away from a predator) and not long-term ones. - Research suggests that the immunosuppression caused by prolonged stress can continue even after the stress is over. - The inflammatory response that occurs during prolonged stress may play a role in immunosuppression. - Allostasis refers to the process by which the body maintains stability through change to meet both perceived and anticipated demands. * Through allostasis, the body protects itself from both internal and external stress. - This occurs through the activation of the SNS, HPA axis, and changes in metabolism, heart rate, blood pressure, and immune system. * However, prolonged exposure to the hormones re- leased during this response can lead to allostatic over- load, or wear and tear on the body's organs, including the immune system.

Identify the biological causes of amnesia.

retrograde amnesia = loss of memory from the point of injury backward. - The consolidation process of memories that are not fully formed gets disrupted. - Electroconvulsive therapy, used to treat MDD, may cause this. Anterograde amnesia = loss of memory from the point of injury forward. - Can result from damage to the hippocampus. - Related to low levels of acetylcholine. Infantile amnesia = the inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3. - May be due to the fact that most memories before age 3 are implicit and this type of memory is difficult to bring to consciousness.