psych final
manic episode symptoms
1. Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity 2. Decreased need for sleep 3. Flight of ideas and racing thoughts 4. More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking 5. Increase in goal-directed activity (at home, work, or school) and/or non-goal-directed activity (psychomotor agitation such as pacing around the room uncontrollably) 6. Distractibility and/or inability to disengage from a task 7. Excessive involvement in risky activities that have a high potential for negative consequences • excessive shopping sprees, gambling, sexual indiscretions
How long is a general sleep cycle?
90 minutes
major depressive disorder - diagnostic criteria and prevalence
A disorder in which an individual experiences recurrent 'major depressive episodes' Symptoms must be present for at least 2 consecutive weeks and they must be present most of the day, nearly every day • Note: average episode is ~5 months At least one of these symptoms must be present: 1. Depressed mood (feeling sad, empty, hopeless, or irritable) 2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure (anhedonia) The individual has to have at least four of the following symptoms (in addition to depressed mood or anhedonia): 1. Significant changes in weight and/or appetite 2. Sleep disturbance - insomnia or hypersomnia 3. Significant 'psychomotor' anomalies agitation, fidgetiness, slowed movement, heaviness 4. Persistent fatigue 5. Negative thoughts/rumination worthlessness, hopelessness, excessive guilt, extreme self-criticism 6. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness 7. Recurrent thoughts of death
Delayed Sleep Phase Type
A persistent inability to fall asleep and awaken at a desired or conventionally acceptable earlier time § often deviates 3-4 hours from desired time § Symptoms of sleep-onset insomnia, sleep inertia, and excessive early day sleepiness are prominent. § Because these individuals have a history of difficulty falling asleep at a 'normal' time, they often develop maladaptive behaviors (e.g., doing work, playing games, watching TV, searching the internet) that further increase arousal and impair sleep.
Internal locus of control vs. external locus of control?
A person with an internal locus of control believes that he or she can influence events and their outcomes, while someone with an external locus of control blames outside forces for everything
Describe the results of the Dutch Hunger Winter study
According to Roseboom's research, children who were conceived during the Dutch Hunger Winter have: Higher risk of cardiovascular disease as an adult (up to 2x greater risk) Higher rates of obesity throughout life Increased risk of high blood pressure as an adult Higher rates of hospitalization as an adult (i.e. increased illness) Lower likelihood of being employed In other words, the children who were still in their mother's womb during that brutal winter have poorer health six decades later.
Describe the research findings regarding the brains of bilingual individuals (e.g., how does age of acquisition impact brain functioning)?
Adults who learned a second language at 1 to 3 years of age show the normal pattern of left-hemisphere activity in a test of grammatical knowledge (darker colors indicate greater activation). Those who learned the language later show more bilateral activation (i.e., increased right-hemisphere activity along with typical left activity).
Be familiar with the research on learning multiple languages.
Age at immigration was the single biggest predictor of mastery of English. (3-7 when learning English is best time to completely master it)
bipolar disorder - diagnostic criteria and prevalence
An alternation between depression and mania 'Bipolar I' - full manic episodes 'Bipolar II' - hypomanic episodes What is a manic episode? Symptoms must last at least 1 week, and are often experienced with such severity that they impact work/school performance, and may even require hospitalization. A hypomanic episode typically lasts 4-6 days, often with fewer or less severe symptoms Prevalence rate of bipolar disorder is ~2%
What are the four melodies of IDS?
Approval Prohibiting Comfort Attention
Narcolepsy
At night individuals fall asleep & quickly enter REM sleep. § Excessive daytime sleepiness § Daytime sleep attacks ('micro-sleep') that mimic REM sleep People with narcolepsy often have a deficiency in hypocretin (a neuropeptide which typically promotes wakefulness).
What do we know about newborns' language abilities?
Babies distinguish all phonemes they will later use for language They can discriminate all the sounds of all languages
What was Charles Spearman's rationale for arguing that there is a "g-factor"?
Based on research indicating that people who score high on one mental test tend to score high on others. • The positive correlations between performance on a range of mental tests suggest that there is an underlying factor that contributes to success on each test.
Describe L. L. Thurstone's theory of intelligence
Based on statistical analysis of over fifty different cognitive tests, L. L. Thurstone found that test items tended to measure the following primary mental abilities: - Verbal fluency & Verbal comprehension - Reasoning & Memory - Numerical & Spatial performance ability - Perceptual speed • Scoring high on one mental ability generally matched high scores on the others, providing additional support for an underlying general intelligence factor.
Broca's aphasia
Broca's aphasia (expressive/non-fluent aphasia): serious impairment in language production due to damage to Broca's and related areas. Communication resembles telegraphic speech (i.e., simple noun verb combinations).
What is infant-directed speech?
Caregiver's communications with infants
the biology of our circadian rhythms
Circadian rhythm - the regular bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24- hour period; the biological clock Regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, which responds to morning light and triggers the pineal gland to decrease melatonin production.
Research on Type A personality, stress, & stress-related disease?
Classic 'Type A' individuals are competitive & hard-driving, but also tend to be impatient and prone to anger and hostility. ¡ Research suggests that these individuals are more susceptible to negative effects of stress, including vulnerability to heart disease and decreased life expectancy. ¡ The level of hostility expressed when confronted with stressors seems to be the biggest risk factor. People with the highest life stress scores were also the most vulnerable when exposed to an experimental cold virus.
schizophrenia - diagnostic criteria and prevalence
Defined by abnormalities in the following five domains: 1. Disorganized thinking & speech 2. Delusions 3. Hallucinations 4. Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior 5. Negative symptoms For schizophrenia diagnosis - symptoms must be continuous for at least 6 months Prevalence rate: ~1% • Typically emerges between the late teens and the mid-30s; onset prior to adolescence is rare. • Slightly more common in males than females (7:5), and men tend to show higher rates of negative symptoms and increased symptom-severity. • Some individuals have absent insight - lack awareness of their disorder. • Absent insight is the most common predictor of non-adherence to treatment and risk of relapse. • ~20% of individuals attempt suicide
What evidence supports the theory that sleep is essential for growth and maintenance?
During sleep, the pituitary gland releases growth hormone. Babies and teenagers need the extra sleep. Older people release less of this hormone and sleep less. § Sleep is important for immune cell reproduction & improves immune response § Sleep restores and repairs our energetically expensive brain • increased production of new glial cells that form myelin. • maintenance of neurons in the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex; maintains functionality in those cortical circuits
What do we know about dreams and their general content (e.g., visuals, emotions, themes, REM vs. NREM dreams)?
Everybody dreams at night, but most of them are forgotten before we wake up. § Dreams during NREM sleep are often extensions of wakeful experience ('sleep thinking') § Dreams during REM sleep are bizarre and vivid. § Dreams sometimes include images from frequent experiences or particularly emotional experiences. § The thoughts, emotions, and worries that precede sleep are the things most likely to be incorporated into our dream content. § About 80% of dreams often include some negative event or emotion (e.g., 'failure dreams' such as being pursued, attacked, rejected, or having bad luck).
generalized anxiety disorder - diagnostic criteria and prevalence
Excessive and uncontrollable anxiety and worry, occurring most days for at least 6 months, about a number of events and can often occur without any known 'trigger' (e.g., free-floating anxiety) Associated with the following symptoms: 1. Restlessness or feeling on edge. 2. Being easily fatigued. 3. Difficulty concentrating. 4. Irritability. 5. Muscle tension. 6. Sleep disturbances. The constant worry causes impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. ~3% prevalence rate
post traumatic stress disorder- diagnostic criteria and prevalence
Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual assault Note: the level of distress experienced during or immediately following the trauma does not predict the likelihood of PTSD (e.g., individuals who display no stress and seem to be coping just fine can still develop PTSD) Four primary symptoms: 1. Intrusive symptoms - recurrent memories of event, nightmares, cue-triggered flashbacks, cue-triggered anxiety 2. Avoidance - complete avoidance of stimuli/cues associated with the traumatic event, social withdrawal 3. Negative thoughts/mood - persistent anxiety/anger/guilt, feelings of detachment, inability to experience positive emotions 4. Altered behavior & emotional reactivity - self-destructive behavior, sleep disturbance, difficulty with concentration, jumpiness, irritability, angry outbursts Symptoms usually begin within the first 3 months after the trauma, although there may be 'delayed expression' of months or even years. Sex differences in prevalence rates Males ~4% Females ~10% Higher prevalence for war veterans Iraqi-Afghanistan war veterans ~15%
What was Freud's perspective on personality?
Freud argued that much of our personality is driven by unconscious processes. • The unconscious mind is a reservoir of thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories that are hidden from awareness.
Describe Carl Rogers' perspective on the conditions essential for positive growth.
Genuineness & Empathy - open with feelings, transparent and self-disclosing, attuned to others' emotions ¡ Unconditional positive regard - an attitude of acceptance of oneself and others despite their failings. ¡ Internal locus of control - the perception that we can control our own fate.
What are the six universally recognized emotions?
Happiness Surprise Sadness Fear Anger Disgust
What was Freud's interpretation of dreams?
He believed that images in dreams ('manifest content') are not what they appear to be. § Instead, they are symbols of hidden wishes that require deeper interpretation to uncover their true meaning ('latent content'). § Freud's theory of dream interpretation is not falsifiable and therefore lacks scientific support.
Who proposed the theory of multiple intelligences?
Howard Gardner
What is the HPA axis?
Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis
Hypersomnolence disorder
Individuals with this disorder fall asleep quickly and have a good sleep efficiency (i.e., sleep through the night) § Excessive nighttime sleep (10-12 hours or more) along with significant difficulty waking up ('sleep inertia') § Excessive daytime sleepiness with daytime naps nearly every day that are often long and non-restorative.
What does intelligence predict (i.e., the predictive validity of IQ scores)
Intelligence test scores are positively correlated with: • Academic success • Military performance • Job success & income • The more complex the job, the more intelligence predicts success in that position. • Health & longevity
What is relative deprivation?
It refers to the discontent people feel when they compare their positions to others and realize that they have less of what they believe themselves to be entitled than those around them.
What hemisphere/areas of the brain are involved in language?
Language processing is concentrated in two brain regions in the left hemisphere: Broca's area - language production wernicke's area - language comprehension
phobias - diagnostic criteria and prevalence
Marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that disrupts behavior and is out of proportion to the actual danger that the object or situation poses. The fear, anxiety, or avoidance lasts for 6 months or more Affects approximately 9% of population Females are more frequently affected than males (2:1) It is common for individuals to have multiple specific phobias. Approximately 75% of individuals with specific phobia fear more than one situation or object.
What are the different sleep stages?
NREM 1-3 and REM
Characteristics of NREM vs. REM sleep?
NREM-1 : relaxed wakefulness NREM-2 : no eye movement occurs, and dreaming is very rare. The sleeper is quite easily awakened NREM-3 is deep, slow-wave sleep REM: Most of our dreaming takes place during REM. Physiological arousal (e.g., heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid, genitals are aroused). fast brain-wave activity that is similar to an alert, waking state. called paradoxical
Learned helplessness
Normally, we try to escape or end a painful situation, but persistent external locus of control can make us lose hope the organism learned that it is helpless in situations where there is a presence of aversive stimuli and has accepted that it has lost control, and thus gives up trying
What social psychological factors contributed to the cruelty of the guards?
Obedience - Orders to help "break the will, bend the resistance of the inmates" set up a norm that legitimized brutality; guards obeyed authority's norm. • In-group conformity - 'Us vs. Them' perception; institutional/group pressures to conform; no incentive for whistleblowers; led guards to be complicit maintain group camaraderie. • Depersonalization & dehumanization - prisoners were stripped of their identity (e.g., given numbers, same prison clothes, daily routines, etc.). They were categorized as a group (enemy, terrorist, Muslim, etc.). They were viewed as animals; their poor hygiene triggered attitudes of disgust. • Deindividuation of guards - due to elevated group identification (e.g., "American soldiers") and general heightened arousal of the situation. This undermined self-restraint. Acting impulsively while observing others doing the same trapped some guards into a Mardi Gras moment - getting lost in the moment without considering consequences.
What were some situational factors that contributed to obedience rates?
Perception of authority figure • Authority is seen as legitimate (e.g., expertise) • When two experimenters were present and one expressed concern, obedience decreased • The proximity & salience of the learner - the closer the teachers were to the learner, physically and psychologically, the less likely they were to administer the maximum shock Limited sources of information in a novel situation • Which contributed to a reliance on the supposed expertise of the experimenter • When observing others' refusal to continue the experiment, obedience was reduced • Gradual increase in size of demands • An effective tactic for changing attitudes and behavior (e.g., motivation to be viewed as consistent) • Responsibility not assigned or diffused • Responsibility placed on experimenter ("just following orders") • When a confederate gave the actual shock and participant took on role as 'assistant', obedience increased
obsessive-compulsive disorder - diagnostic criteria and prevalence
Persistence of unwanted anxious thoughts or images (obsessions) that the individual attempts to ignore, suppress, or neutralize by engaging in compulsive behavior. These compulsions either are not connected in a realistic way to the feared event (e.g., arranging items symmetrically to prevent harm to a loved one) or are clearly excessive (e.g., showering for hours each day). The compulsions are time-consuming and cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Prevalence: ~1% of population § A small percentage (~5%) of individuals with OCD have what's referred to as "absent insight/delusional beliefs" (e.g., the individual is convinced that the house will burn down if the stove is not checked 5 times).
Insomnia disorder
Persistent difficulties with sleep quantity or quality, associated with one or more of the following symptoms: § Difficulty falling asleep (i.e., takes longer than 30 min) § Difficulty maintaining sleep § Early-morning awakening with inability to return to sleep
Describe the major milestones of language development
Prevocal learning - 2-4 months old Babies distinguish all phonemes they will later use for language • Babbling - ~4-6 months old Meaningless experimental sounds preceding actual language • Vocal turn taking - 7-8 months Basic understanding of the pragmatics of communication • First words - ~1 year old Simple words associated with objects or people However, kids' language comprehension (i.e., receptive language) can be quite sophisticated by this time Naming explosion - begins ~18-24 months ÷ Mostly "object words" (e.g., car, doggie, daddy) ¡ Telegraphic speech - begins ~18-24 months ÷ Two-word sentences omitting all but essential words ¡ Preschool period (2 1⁄2 years old - 5 years old) ÷ Longer phrases/sentences ÷ Start to use grammatical morphemes - modifiers that give more precise meaning to words/sentences: ¢ adding 's' for plurality; adding 'ed' for past tense ¢ adding prepositions (in, on) and articles (the, a)
Describe problem-focused coping vs. emotion-focused coping.
Problem-focused coping— attempting to directly change the stressor or change the way we interact with it Emotion-focused coping— attempting to relieve or regulate the emotional impact of a stressful situation
Brain regions that are active as rats learn to navigate a maze show similar activity patterns again as the rats later experience
REM sleep
Based on the research presented in class, does money buy happiness?
Research indicates that there is an overall positive correlation between emotional well-being and income. § However, beyond a certain threshold, higher income is neither associated with experienced happiness nor relief from worry, sadness, or anger
How is sleep related to our memories?
Sleep help strengthen neural connections that build enduring memories. § Sleep prior to learning enhances our ability to encode new experiences and information. § Sleep after learning helps to consolidate those memories § Explicit memories: list of words, material for an upcoming exam § Implicit memories: procedural memories such as play a instrument, trying to beat a video game § Sleep (and dreaming) lead to improved performance § better recall of list of words, etc. § faster, more accurate performance of procedural memories
What is the fundamental attribution error?
Tendency to believe that someone else's behavior is largely due to the person's personality rather than considering the role of the situation. - Personality attributions are often made automatically, whereas situational attributions require more cognitive thought after weighing information about the context.
What evidence supports the reliability of IQ tests?
Test scores at age 11 predict intelligence test score at age 80 (r = .66)
What is the DSM-5?
The American Psychiatric Association rendered a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to describe psychological disorders. The most recent edition, the DSM-5 (2013), describes ~400 psychological disorders.
Explain the concept of the hedonic treadmill
The Hedonic Treadmill states that despite the fact that circumstances like winning the lottery or becoming paraplegic alter our happiness level temporarily, we quickly adjust back to a fixed emotional set point. is what online says but in class: perpetually chasing something newer and better
Describe the research on the KE family regarding the link between FOXP2 and brain organization and activation.
The KE family members with abnormal variants of the FOXP2 have: ¡ Reduced grey matter in Broca's area ¡ Functional abnormalities in Broca's area during language tasks
What is the WAIS?
The WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) is one of the most widely-used standardized IQ tests.
social anxiety disorder - diagnostic criteria and prevalence
The individual fears that he or she will act in a way or show anxiety symptoms that will be negatively evaluated (e.g., judged as anxious, weak, stupid, boring, or unlikable). The social situation(s) are avoided or endured with intense fear, and often trigger anticipatory anxiety (e.g., worrying every day for weeks before attending a social event). The fear, anxiety, or avoidance lasts for 6 months or more. Prevalence rates are ~7% of US population.
Describe some of the neurological components of emotion (e.g., hemisphere differences, etc.).
The limbic system helps coordinate our emotions and encode emotional memories. § Cortical areas such as the insula, anterior cingulate, & prefrontal cortex help guide our behavioral response to emotional stimuli. § Physiological and behavioral responses via autonomic nervous system & endocrine system. left hemisphere: positive emotions, right hemisphere: negative emotions
Describe Stanley Milgram's study on obedience. What were the main results?
They measured the willingness of study participants, men from a diverse range of occupations with varying levels of education, to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience he was testing how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict on another person simply because he was ordered to by an experimental scientist. 65% of people continued to obey to the end and delivered lethal shock
What is chronic stress?
This is stress resulting from repeated exposure to situations that lead to the release of stress hormones. This type of stress can cause wear and tear on your mind and body. Many scientists think that our stress response system was not designed to be constantly activated. This overuse may contribute to the breakdown of many bodily systems. causes persistent inflammation which leads to depression and heart disease
What is acute stress?
This is stress resulting from specific events or situations that involve novelty, unpredictability, a threat to the ego, and leave us with a poor sense of control. This 'on the spot' type of stress can be good for you because the stress hormones released help your mind and body to deal with the situation.
Describe the Stanford prison study and its parallels to Abu Ghraib prison.
To investigate how readily people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life. Zimbardo (1973) was interested in finding out whether the brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic personalities of the guards (i.e. dispositional) or had more to do with the prison environment (i.e. situational). conclusion: People will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play, especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped as those of the prison guards. The "prison" environment was an important factor in creating the guards' brutal behavior (none of the participants who acted as guards showed sadistic tendencies before the study). Therefore, the findings support the situational explanation of behavior rather than the dispositional one.
Be familiar with some of the WAIS subtests.
Verbal Comprehension Subtests • SIMILARITIES Individuals are presented with two words that represent common objects or concepts and asked to say how they are similar. • VOCABULARY Individuals are asked to give definitions for words presented orally. • INFORMATION Individuals answer questions that address a broad range of general knowledge topics. Working Memory Subtests • DIGIT SPAN The individual is first asked to repeat orally presented numbers in the same order. Then the individual is asked to repeat orally presented numbers in reverse order. • LETTER-NUMBER SEQUENCING Orally presented with a sequence of letters and numbers. Must repeat in particular order - "tell me the numbers first, in order, starting with the lowest number. Then tell me the letters in alphabetical order." Perceptual Reasoning Subtests • MATRIX REASONING Individuals look at an incomplete matrix (made up of pictures or designs) and selects the missing item from five options. • BLOCK DESIGN Individuals use up to nine red and white blocks to re-create a model or a picture of a design within a specific time limit.
Describe Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
We must have needs lower on the hierarchy met before we can we try to reach the state of self-actualization— fulfilling our potential. self-actualization status, esteem belonging, social activity safety, security, comfort, sex basic physiological needs, food, water, etc
How do our sleep cycles change throughout the night?
We spend more time in NREM-3 during the first 3 hours of sleep (i.e., the first two sleep cycles). • As sleep progresses into the latter half of the night, we begin to experience longer episodes of both NREM-2 and REM sleep.
Wernicke's aphasia
Wernicke' s aphasia (receptive/fluent aphasia): impaired language comprehension due to damage of Wernicke's area. Difficulty understanding spoken and written speech (especially nouns and verbs). Fluency of speech is normal; it lacks coherency and is therefore is often incomprehensible to others.
Describe the research on meditation, mindfulness, and well-being we discussed in class.
When labeling emotions during mindfulness meditation, people show less activation in the amygdala and more activation in the left prefrontal cortex. ¡ There is also evidence that meditation: § activates other brain areas associated with reflective awareness (i.e., default-mode network) § protects against a relapse in major depression. § reduces anxiety and sleep problems. § reduces glucocorticoid levels during and after. § boosts the immune system response (even in cancer patients). § slows the aging process by protecting our telomeres from gradual decline.
Describe Genie's case study & its importance regarding language development.
Within months of being discovered, Genie had developed exceptional nonverbal communication skills, and gradually learned some basic social skills, but even by the end of their case study, she still exhibited many behavioral traits characteristic of an unsocialized person. She also continued to learn and use new language skills throughout the time they tested her, but ultimately remained unable to fully acquire a first language.
What are semantic networks?
Words that have strong associative or semantic relations form larger networks of knowledge. • These associated words can then act as anchors that help retrieve memory of other words, concepts, or schemas.
What are defense mechanisms?
a mental process (e.g., repression or projection) initiated, typically unconsciously, to avoid conscious conflict or anxiety
What is psychoanalysis?
a system of psychological theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind and bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind by techniques such as dream interpretation and free association.
Increased activity in the ________ during REM sleep may best explain why dream images are often accompanied by a strong emotional tone.
amygdala
negative symptoms
an absence of normal emotional experiences • Flat affect-diminished emotional expression • Avolition - a decrease in motivation or interest in pursuing purposeful activities • Inappropriate affect - laughing at inappropriate times, etc. • Anhedonia & dysphoria - loss of pleasure; depressed mood • Asociality - the apparent lack of interest in social interactions
Understand the IQ distribution (including mean score, standard deviations, and percentage of population falling within certain score ranges).
average score = 100 standard deviation = 15 68% score 85-115 95% score 70-130 0.1% lower than 55 and 0.1% higher than 145
How does chronic stress affect the immune system and cardiovascular health?
causes immune suppression and heart disease energy is mobilized away from the immune system making it vulnerable
Who was the first to argue that emotions are shaped via natural selection?
charles darwin
Hypnagogic hallucinations
dreamlike sensations that occur with onset of sleep attack
What is an EEG?
electrodes are placed on the scalp to measure electrical activity in the cortex during sleep. Eye movements and muscle tension are also monitored.
According to Milgram, the most fundamental lesson to be learned from his study of obedience is that
even ordinary people, who are not usually hostile, can become agents of destruction
delusions
fixed beliefs that are not amenable to change despite clear or reasonable contradictory evidence regarding their veracity. • Persecutory delusions - most common type of delusion; belief that one is going to be harmed by an individual, organization, or other entity • Grandiose delusions - believes that he or she has exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame; think they are a famous individual • Erotomanic delusions - belief that another person is in love with them • Nihilistic delusions - conviction that a major catastrophe will occur
How do fluid and crystallized intelligence change as we age?
fluid intelligence and mental speed and working memory decrease with age, crystallized intelligence (ex. vocabulary) increases
What hormone is associated with HPA activity?
glucocorticoids/cortisol
What are the id, superego, and ego?
id: unconscious energy superego: internalized ideals ego: mostly conscious; makes peace between id and superego
Factor analysis is a statistical procedure that can be used to
identify clusters of closely related test items.
What does it mean to say that we have a long-term 'happiness set-point'?
in the long run, happy and sad events have short term effects on our happiness but we always return to a fairly constant happiness level observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes
sleep paralysis
inability to move when waking from sleep
As people experience positive emotions, an increase in brain activity is most evident in the
left frontal lobe
What is aphasia?
loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage
What is the relation between chronic stress and social status?
lower social status means higher chronic stress lower-ranked males experience ongoing, uncontrollable stress, which does affect their relationships, particularly the amount of bullying they face from higher-ranked males
We find it especially difficult to detect from other people's facial expressions whether they are
lying
hallucinations
occur in any sensory modality, but auditory hallucinations are the most common, usually experienced as voices, whether familiar or unfamiliar, that are perceived as distinct from the individual's own thoughts
Unlike country, pop, and religious music lovers, those who prefer classical, jazz, blues, and folk music tend to score high on the Big Five trait dimension known as
openness
What are the Big Five traits?
openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
What characteristics are associated with being high vs. low on each trait dimension?
openness: high = imaginative, creative, curious, independent low = practical, uncreative, incurious, conforming conscientiousness: high = organized careful, disciplined, punctual low = disorganized, careless, lazy, late extraversion: high = sociable, active, fun-loving, affectionate low = retiring, passive, sober, reserved agreeableness: high = soft-hearted, trusting, lenient, helpful low = ruthless, suspicious, critical, uncooperative neuroticism: high = anxious, emotional, insecure, self-pitying low = calm, unemotional, secure, self-satisfied
Explain the concept of comorbidity
people diagnosed with one psychological disorder are often diagnosed with other disorders
In one study, 93 percent of nursing home patients became happier and more alert when they experienced
personal control
What are the three phases of Seyle's General Adaptation Syndrome?
phase 1: alarm reaction phase 2: resistance phase 3: exhaustion
During REM sleep, your skeletal muscles are relaxed because messages from the motor cortex are blocked by the
pons
Sleep terrors
recurrent episodes of abrupt terror arousals while still sleeping, usually beginning with a panicky scream and sitting up in bed with eyes wide open. There is intense fear, rapid heartbeat & breathing, sweating, etc. Individual is often unresponsive to efforts of others trying to comfort them. If wakened, they do not report a story-like nightmare sequence. NREM-3, occurs most commonly in childhood individual has no memory of episode
What is crystallized intelligence?
reflects both the knowledge one acquires through experience and the ability to use that knowledge.
Fluid intelligence
reflects the ability to process information, particularly in novel or complex circumstances, e.g. reasoning & problem- solving
If a test yields consistent results every time it is used, it has a high degree of
reliability
L. L. Thurstone believed that there is(are)
seven different primary mental abilities, each of which is a relatively independent element of intelligence.
catatonic behavior
significant alteration in behavior and movement • Complete lack of verbal and motor responses (i.e., mutism & stupor) • Purposeless and excessive motor activity; repeated stereotyped movements (e.g., pacing, rocking, staring, grimacing, echoing of speech) • Maintaining a rigid, inappropriate or bizarre posture • General resistance to instructions or requests from others
What do twin studies and adoption studies tell us about intelligence?
similarity in intelligence scores high to low: identical twins reared together - 0.85 identical twins reared apart fraternal twins reared together siblings reared together unrelated individuals living together as adopted children age their intelligence scores become much more similar to their birth parents than their adoptive parents
Cataplexy
sudden muscular weakness (e.g., going weak in the knees, slurred speech, drooping eyelids, etc.) often triggered by laughter or joking
disorganized thinking and speech
switching rapidly and randomly from one topic to another, responds to questions with nonsensical answers, speech may be incomprehensible.
Sleepwalking
the individual has a blank, staring face; is relatively unresponsive to the efforts of others to communicate with him or her, and can be awakened only with great difficulty. Can sometimes be accompanied by sleeptalking, eating, or even 'sexsomnia' in adults non-REM, occurs most commonly in childhood individual has no memory of episode
Psychologists define stress as
the process by which we appraise and respond to threatening or challenging events.
The heritability of intelligence refers to
the proportion of variation in intelligence among individuals that is attributable to genetic variation
How are emotions, such as aggression and disgust, evolutionarily adaptive?
the purpose of emotion is to facilitate adaptive behavior and decision making in response to salient events. § They have been shaped by natural selection because they contributed to the survival and reproductive success of our primate and hominid ancestors. ex. disgust: experience disgust at a poison so vomit and eject poison --> survive
