Psychology 2

What happens during a coma?

Neural Pathway: The reticular formation of the brain stem stimulates the prefrontal cortex to maintain alertness. Loss of this function results in a coma.

Components of Emotion : Physiological Response

Physiological changes in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and skin temperature observed in the individual experiencing the emotion.

Pragmatics

Pragmatics refers to the ability to competently use language appropriately in any given social context.

Barriers to Effective problem solving: Mental Set =

Predetermined mental framework for approaching a problem; a tendency to rely on approaches and solutions that have worked in the past. Mental sets can lead to rigid thinking and a lack of cognitive flexibility.

Heuristics approach to problem solving: Representative Heuristic=

Reliance on prototypes or stereotypes as a shortcut to making a decision or judgment.

James-Lange theory of emotion

states that emotions arise from physiological arousal. In other words, we only experience fear because of the activation of the sympathetic nervous system upon encountering a threatening stimulus.

What do depressants do?

stimulate the neurotransmitter GABA (chief inhibitory neurotransmitter of the nervous system). At low doses, they can result in relatively minor mood changes and mild impairment of coordination. At high doses, these drugs can result in unconsciousness and in the case of alcohol and barbiturates, death. Using alcohol in conjunction with either benzodiazepines or barbiturates can exacerbate the effects of these drugs in the user and make negative outcomes much more likely.

Drug Types: Pain killers =

opiates, opioids.

Brain waves according to decreasing frequency:

in HZ ; beta (14-40) alpha (9-13) theta(4-8) delta(0.5-3.9)

Limbic System Component Function: Hippocampus

(explicit emotional memory) The hippocampus is associated mainly with memory, in particular long-term memory. The organ also plays an important role in spatial navigation.

Limbic System Component Function: Amygdala

(implicit emotional memory ) and fear response

What region of the brain allows communication between Broca's and Wernicke's area ?

A bundle of axons called arcuate fascicles allow integration of language comprehension and speech

Heuristics

A heuristic is a rule of thumb or shortcut that generally, but not always, solves the problem. Pretend there is a teacher in your school that grades papers based on heuristics. They might know the reputation of Johnny is that of a great student and give them an A on a paper without even reading it. Boris may have a reputation of being a C student and the teacher may give Boris a C also without reading the paper. In both cases the teacher may be right using the heuristic, but it is possible that Boris worked his butt off and Johnny smoked the pipe that morning.

Theories of Motivation : Self-Determination theory

A third needs-based theory emphasizing the motivational importance of three basic needs: Autonomy Competence Relatedness (sense of being accepted in social settings or relationships)

What do stimulants do?

Amphetamine and cocaine act as stimulants of the central nervous system. Users report feelings of euphoria and high levels of energy. Physiologically, users experience increased heart and respiration rates that would normally be associated with an acute stress response. Amphetamine and cocaine act as agonists of the monoamine neurotransmitters with their effects on dopamine activity receiving the most attention from researchers. Both drugs block the reuptake of dopamine from the synapse, but amphetamine actually causes additional release of dopamine into the synapse.

Theories of Motivation : Cognitive Theory : Expectancy-Value Theory

An aspect of Cognitive Motivational Theory. The magnitude of one's motivation to engage in a behavior is function of an interplay between an individual's 1) expectations of success, and 2) perception of the relative value of the rewards associated with success.

Explicit memory

An emotional memory that is the conscious memory of having experience the emotion.

Barriers to Effective problem solving: Cognitive Bias =

An error in thinking that leads to inaccuracy, illogical thought, a lack of objectivity, a failure to consider all available options or consequences, or prejudice toward one approach or outcome.

base rate fallacy

Base rate fallacies occur when representativeness heuristics are used in error. In these situations, individuals fail to take into account general information when dealing with specific cases. So for instance, when asked if an individual who is described as thin with horned-rimmed glasses and wearing a tweed coat with leather patches on the elbows is more likely a server at a restaurant or has a PhD in English history, most people would choose the latter. This occurs despite the fact that basic probability (a much smaller percentage of the population has a PhD in English history than those who are servers in restaurants) would dictate otherwise.

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

Because the activation of the sympathetic nervous system looks similar regardless of whether we encounter a threat or the love of our lives, the Cannon-Bard theory asserted that the physiological arousal and emotional experience occur at the same time.

Theories of Motivation : Drive Reduction Theory

Behavior is motivate by the desire to reduce or eliminate an uncomfortable or undesirable internal state.

Theories of Motivation : Arousal Theory

Behavior is motivated by a desire to maintain an optimum level of physiological arousal. That optimum level varies among individuals. People seek new interests, action, or stimuli, when arousal is low to increase arousal. When arousal is too high (hyperstimulation) they reduce activity or seek more relaxing activities to reduce arousal.

Theories of Motivation : Incentive Theory

Behavior is motivated by a desire to obtains rewards or to avoid punishments.

Theories of Motivation : Instinct Theory

Behavior is motivated by evolutionary instincts.

Theories of Motivation : Needs-Based Theories

Behavior is motivated by the drive to satisfied ones most urgent needs.

Theories of Motivation : Cognitive Theory

Behavior is motivated by thinking; including plans, goals, expectations, perceptions and attributions.

A collegiate basketball player makes a high percentage of his free throws. He has repeated the same motion so many times, he now performs the task effortlessly and without much thought - an example of automatic processing. Which region of the brain is responsible for motor learning exhibited by this basketball player?

Cerebellum - it's function is to coordinate and regulate muscular activity.

Narcolepsy :

Chronic neurological disorder caused by autoimmune attack of the neurons that release hypocretin- a hormone that normally regulates sleep-wake cycles. Pretty much severe sleepiness and fatigue during the day for no reason.

Three Primary Components of Attitude

Cognitive = How you THINK about something or somebody. Affective (Emotional) = How you FEEL about something or somebody Behavioral = How you BEHAVE toward, or with respect to , somebody or something.

controlled processing vs. automatic processing

Controlled processing requires attention, while automatic processing does not. When you are first learning to drive a car, that task requires an incredible amount of attention, and it would be difficult to engage in some other task that required attention at the same time. However, as tasks become well-learned, processing becomes more automatic and requires less active attention. This is why you can engage in a task like driving and carrying on a meaningful conversation once you have mastered driving.

Deductive Reasoning vs. Inductive Reasoning

Deductive reasoning is a logical process in which a conclusion is based on the concordance of multiple premises that are generally assumed to be true. Deductive reasoning is sometimes referred to as top-down logic. Its counterpart, inductive reasoning, is sometimes referred to as bottom-up logic. Where deductive reasoning proceeds from general premises to a specific conclusion, inductive reasoning proceeds from specific premises to a general conclusion.

Dyssomnias =

Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or avoiding sleep.

Cognitive Theory (Hall)

Dreams are a conceptualization of our experiences; they are visualization of our thoughts and perceptions about five concepts: our self, others, the world around us, morals, and conflict.

Psychoanalytic theory (Freud)

Dreams are expressions of unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations.. Dreams can serve as virtual form of wish fulfillment.

Implicit memory

Emotional memory that is unconscious encoding and storage of the actual feeling. The implicit memory may be retrieved, and the emotion "felt again" when one encounters a similar experience, or during explicit recall of the original event.

T/F: Drug addiction stimulates a seritonin-based reward pathway in the limbic system of the brain.

F: It affects dopamine reward.

Components of Emotion : Behavioral Response

Facial expression or body language that accompany the expression of emotion.

Heuristics approach to problem solving: Availability Heuristic=

Favoring the most easily recalled or imagined solution as a shortcut to making a decision or judgement.

How did Binet contribute to the theories of intelligence?

First to develop an intelligence scale, Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale, and the concept of mental age. vs. chronological age. Binet's purpose was to identify children who needed extra educational help or attention in school. Adapted by a Stanford professor to create the Stanford- Binet IQ test widely in use today.

Galton's Genetic Bias:

Galton think; NATURE not nurture. Despite his twin studies providing groundbreaking evidence for nurture, Galton leaned toward a stronger genetic component. IN fact, this bias led him to be a strong proponent of eugenics.

how did Gardner contribute to theories of intelligence :

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.

Heuristics approach to problem solving: Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic=

Giving higher priority to the very first piece of information received and/or framing subsequent information around it.

Stanford-Binet IQ Test (S-B) equation, and limitation.

IQ stands for Intelligence Quotient and is given by the formula IQ=mental age/ chronological age*100. The mean is 100 and the standard deviation is 15. However, the test, and IQ testing generally, is not without criticism. An IQ test measured only certain types of intellect and should NOT be interpreted as implying that IQ is fixed and unchangeable.

Stress: Secondary Appraisal =

If the threat is determined to be stressful, the individual next judges whether he or she has the resources to cope with the stress.

belief perseverance bias

In cases in which we are confronted with evidence that clearly contradicts our previously held belief, yet continue to hold onto it, we are engaging in belief perseverance. To expand on the example from above, someone would be demonstrating belief perseverance if they continue to assert that elderly people make poor drivers even after reading a news story that indicates that a much higher percentage of younger drivers are involved in automobile accidents than elderly drivers

Divided attention

In tasks that require divided attention, we must split our attention among multiple tasks. You engage in divided attention when you do something like drive a car while engaging in a conversation with a passenger in the car.

Stress: Primary Appraisal =

Initial evaluation of the potential threat. It is suggested that we judge the potential threat to be either: irrelevant (unimportant), benign - positive (good), stressful (bad).

IQ correlations:

Intelligence is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Positively corrlated with the following: -High level of parental expectation -higher socioeconomic status -early educational intervention -adequate nutrition

Theories of Motivation : Cognitive Theory : Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic sources of motivation

Intrinsic Motivation = Purpose or drive to act based upon personal, internal , often unseen motives. Extrinsic Motivation = Purpose or drive to act based upon external rewards or stimuli.

How did spearman contribute to the theories of intelligence?

Introduced the concept of General Intelligence- often called the "g-factor" and assigned a lowercase variable, g. Spearman argued that general intelligence was bedrock intellect form which all other forms of intelligence are developed.

Limbic System Component Function: Corpus Callosum

It connects the left and right sides of the brain allowing for communication between both hemispheres. The corpus callosum transfers motor, sensory, and cognitive information between the brain hemispheres.

Limbic System Component Function: Cingulate Gyrus

It receives inputs from the thalamus and the neocortex, and projects to the entorhinal cortex via the cingulum. It is an integral part of the limbic system, which is involved with emotion formation and processing, learning, and memory.

Drug Types: Hallucinogens =

LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) peyote, mushrooms

Wernicke's Area

Language comprehension

Which region of the brain is most directly tied to emotion?

Limbic System : EMOTION and MOTIVATION

Morphemes

Morphemes (the smallest units of language that carry meaning) can be used by combing one or more phonemes together, and morphology involves focusing on how words are formed from combinations of morphemes.

Brocas Area

Motor aspects of speech (e.g. moving your mouth and tongue)

Barriers to Effective problem solving: Functional fixedness =

One example of a mental set in which, when solving a problem, we can only visualize using an object or tool in the ways we have seen it used previously. Other examples of functional fixedness might involve searching for hours for a screwdriver to repair a knob on a kitchen drawer without recognizing that one of the knives in the drawer could serve a screwdriver's function. Another example of functional fixedness might occur if you failed to recognize that the heel of your shoe would make an excellent hammer in a pinch.

Limbic System Component Function: Hypothalamus

One of the most important functions of the hypothalamus is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland (hypophysis). The hypothalamus regulates many of the body's metabolic processes, thirst, hunger and body temperature.

What do pain killers do?

Opiates have pronounced analgesic properties and act on the opioid system in the brain. Users report feelings of euphoria when administering these drugs intravenously or via smoking. These drugs also affect motility of smooth muscle, regulation of temperature, heart rate, and respiration

Paradoxical Sleep =

Paradoxical is an adjective that describes a paradox, something with two meanings that don't make sense together. Phrase used to describe the ironic fact that during REM sleep alertness, heart rate, breathing, and EEG patterns are nearly that of wakefulness, and yet one's muscles are paralyzed.

Phonology

Phonology focuses on the phonemes (sound units within a given language) and how they can be combined in meaningful ways.

schemas

Schemas are patterns of thought that we use to create categories of information or behavior and to understand the relationship that exists among those categories. They prove useful because they allow us to speed up processing of the tremendous amount of information that bombards us each day, but they can also bias the ways in which we deal with new information to create stereotypes about a category of individuals or objects and prevent us from retaining information that doesn't fit the schema. We often assimilate new information to fit into an existing schema, but we can also accommodate, or amend, the schema to include new information.

selective attention

Selective attention refers to the process by which we focus on one aspect in our environments while ignoring others.

Semantics

Semantics deal with the meaning of language and involve issues about how meaning is changed as a function of the relationship among the words that are used.

Limbic System Component Function: Thalamus

Some of its functions are the relaying of sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex, and the regulation of consciousness, sleep, and alertness.

What occurs in each of the four stages of sleep?

Stage one= falling asleep, EEG is a mix of alpha and theta waves. Stage two= deeper sleep, EEG is theta waves mixed with sleep spindles and K complexes. Stage three= transitions, EEG is mostly theta waves, but delta waves begin to appear. Stage four (REM)= deep sleep, often called delta sleep' because the EEG contains slow ( low frequency) delta waves.

Distress vs. Eustress

Stress can arise from both positive/pleasant aspects of life (eustress; e.g. graduating, getting married, landing a new job) AND negative/unpleasant aspects of life (distress; e.g., poor performance in school, losing your job, divorce).

Syntax

Syntax refers to the rules that govern how words are ordered into meaningful sentences. Colloquially, we refer to syntax as the rules of grammar.

Theories of Motivation : ERG Theory

The ERG theory essentially distills Maslow's needs into three different categories: existence needs, relatedness needs, and growth needs. The existence needs basically combine Maslow's physiological and safety needs into one category. Relatedness needs combine portions of Maslow's love/belonging needs and esteem needs. Growth needs combine portions of Maslow's esteem needs and self-actualization needs. While these two approaches are very similar, one striking difference is that ERG theory does present these needs in an ordinal fashion. While Maslow thought an individual would need to satisfy lower level needs before moving on to higher needs, this is not the case in ERG theory because an individual can be motivated by needs from each category simultaneously.

The schachter-Singer theory of emotion

The Schachter-Singer theory, therefore, posits that emotions are composed of 2 factors: a physiological component and a cognitive component. Here, physiological arousal is interpreted in context which leads to the emotional experience.

The behaviorist theory of language

The behaviorist(or learning) theory of language development asserts that we are born without any knowledge of language and that we learn language through classical learning mechanisms (e.g. being reinforced for engaging in linguistic behavior) and through observational learning.

Cocktail party effect

The cocktail party effect is a specific instance in which we may suddenly shift our attention to something that was previously ignored because of some cue that draws our attention. This gets its name from the experience we have all had where we are at some gathering and we tune out the noise around us to focus on a conversation that we are having with someone nearby. However, if someone says our name, our attention is now suddenly shifted to hear what is being said to or about us.

The interactionist theory of language

The interactionist theory of language development asserts that language acquisition occurs in predictable, fixed stages of development.

what is the dompaninergic pathway associated with drug addiction?

The mesolimbic dopamine pathway originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain and projects to the nucleus accumbens. This pathway is thought to be instrumental in dopamine's role in drugs of abuse.

The nativist ( or psycholinguistic) theory of language

The nativist(or psycholinguistic) theory asserts that humans are prewired for language at birth and that language will naturally emerge as we grow and interact with our environments.

Another region involved in emotion is the ventral prefrontal cortex. Differentiate between the Left and Right prefrontal cortex with respect to emotion.

The right prefrontal cortex is associated with negative emotions while the left is associated with positive emotions.

Limbic System Component Function: Septal Nuclei

The septal nuclei receive reciprocal connections from the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, midbrain, habenula, cingulate gyrus, and thalamus.

Components of Emotion : Subjective Experience (aka cognitive response)

The subjective interpretation of the mood or feeling experienced by the individual.

Overconfidence

We're very unlikely to question the wisdom of our decisions because we suffer from the overconfidence bias. In simple terms, this refers to the fact that we are convinced that we've arrived at the correct decision even when we are wrong.

What part of the brain is responsible for maintaining conscious alertness?

When asked to associate alertness with a brain region, THINK: Reticular Formation. The reticular formation communicates with the thalamus and the cerebral cortex to regulate what information comes to our consciousness and regulates states of consciousness such as alertness and sleep. Injury to the reticular formation can induce coma.

Limbic System Component Function: Fornix

While its exact function and importance in the physiology of the brain is still not entirely clear, it has been demonstrated in humans that surgical transection - the cutting of the fornix along its body - can cause memory loss. There is some debate over what type of memory is affected by this damage, but it has been found to most closely correlate with recall memory rather than recognition memory.

parasomnias =

abnormal movements, behavior, perceptions, or emotions during sleep. sleep waking (aka sommambulism) night terrors (aka pavor nocturnus) = experience of sever anxiety, dread, or terror during the first few hours of stages 3-4 (non-REM) sleep. Most common in children. Associated with screaming thrashing, or suddenly sitting up in bed, and hyper-stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.

Drug Types: Depressants =

alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines

What is happening when each brain wave is stimulated? (like what does alpha beta theta etc. represent?)

alpha= resting/ mediating usually eyes are closed beta= eyes open fixated on stimulus. Awake and alert theta = light sleep can be related to neurological disorders. delta= deep sleep (REM)

Eugenics

any belief, method, or practice designed to improve the genetic makeup of the human race, usually by preventing the birth, reproduction rate, or survival of individuals deemed to have "less-desirable" genes.

Drug Types: Stimulants =

cocaine, caffeine, amphetamines, ecstatsy

Jean Piaget

considered to be the father of developmental psychology and a major contributor to Cognitive Theory.

Dyssomnias: sleep apnea:

difficulty breathing while asleep

Dyssomnias : specifically insomnia =

difficulty falling asleep ,/ staying asleep.

Problem solving theory

dreams are a way for the mind to solve problems encountered while awake. Some proponents suggest the unconscious dreaming mind is better suited or more capable of solving problems then the awake mind- unrestricted by reality or more sensitive to subtle clues.

How does skin temperature differ in fear and anger?

lower during fear; higher during anger.

Information Processing Theory

memories and information accumulated during the day are consolidated during sleep. Dreaming is the cerebral cortex associating images or meaning with this consolidation process.

Physiological effects of chronic sleep deprivation =

positively correlated with decreased cognitive functioning, depression, and multiple chronic diseases including: heart disease, high BP, obesity, and diabetes.

Cataplexy=

sudden, transient periods of muscle weakness or paralysis during which the patient remains fully conscious and aware.

Age-related physical changes = T/F: Overall memory and working memory decline. T/F: Procedural memory and semantic memory stay stable.

the brain shrinks in size, and neural plasticity decreases. loss of neurons: The frontal lobe and corpus callosum lose neurons at the fastest rate; the cerebellum eventually loses about 25% of its neurons. T and T

neural placticity

the brain's ability to change structure and function to accommodate new memories, make new connections, create new motor skills, etc.

activation synthesis theory

the limbic system is randomly active during sleep, mimicking incoming stimuli. Dreams are an attempt by the cerebral cortex to synthesize and interpret this activity in a logical way.

monamine neurotransmitter

which include dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline and serotonin, are released from neurones in both the brain and peripheral nervous system. The function of the monoamines is not clear but they are thought to have a crucial role in arousal, emotion and cognition.

Confirmation bias

you think old people are bad drivers and only make a mental note of all the times an old driver has been bad. overestimate how "right" we are about some particular opinion or thought and we become subject to the effects of the confirmation bias by seeking out information that agrees with our own perspective and paying less attention to any information that might challenge our previously held beliefs.