PSYCH midterm

learning

Does the mere sight of the golden arches in front of McDonald's make you feel pangs of hunger and think about hamburgers? If it does, you are displaying an elementary form of learning called classical conditioning. Classical conditioning helps explain such diverse phenomena as crying at the sight of a bride walking down the aisle, fearing the dark, and falling in love. Classical conditioning is one of a number of different types of learning that psychologists have identified, but a general definition encompasses them all: Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior that is brought about by experience.

applying psychology "remembering what never happened"

Have you ever had a memory that you were absolutely certain was accurate, only to discover undeniable evidence that it wasn't? Perhaps you remember vivid details about being present at an event that you never actually attended, or of meeting someone that you only ever heard stories about or saw on television? If so, you experienced a false memory, and they happen far more often than you probably realize. Researchers have repeatedly shown that false memories are actually fairly easy to induce, and without objective verification, they are virtually impossible to distinguish from genuine memories. Television news anchor Brian Williams can testify to the reality of false memories. In 2003, while on assignment in Iraq, Williams was riding in a military helicopter behind another helicopter that was forced down by enemy fire. Over the ensuing years Williams repeatedly told the tale of this experience in interviews, but before long his stories placed himself in the helicopter that was shot down. In early 2015, Williams was accused of lying about his experience and gave a public apology before stepping down from his post as anchor of NBC Nightly News (Mahler, Somaiya, & Steel, 2015). Was television news anchor Brian Williams a victim of false memories regarding his reporting in the Middle East? © Patrick Andrade/Polaris/Newscom Many memory experts believe that Williams was not in fact lying at all (it wouldn't make much sense if he were, given that as a journalist he would know better than anyone that his story could easily be fact-checked). What seems to be much more likely is that over time, as he recounted his story, his fragmented memories of what he directly experienced became intertwined with what he imagined was the experience of the people on the downed helicopter. The parts that he merely imagined became as real to him as his actual memories (Parker-Pope, 2015). A classic example of research on false memories is the "lost in the mall" study, in which participants were given a list of true events that happened to them when they were young (provided by their parents), but which also included a fictitious story about once being lost in a mall and getting rescued by an elderly stranger. The story contained enough familiar elements—such as the name of the mall being one that the participant's family really did frequent—to sound plausible. About a quarter of participants falsely believed that the story was true and described what they "remembered" of it (Loftus, 1999). In more recent research, participants examined crime scene photos and then they later read narratives that contained false details about the crime scene. When they were tested on their recall of details in the photos, many participants reported the false details described in the narrative as being present in the photos. This was particularly true for participants who were sleep deprived

"tip of the tongue" phenomenon

Have you ever tried to remember someone's name, convinced that you knew it but unable to recall it no matter how hard you tried? This common occurrence—known as the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon—exemplifies how difficult it can be to retrieve information stored in long-term memory

applying psychology "you probably can't read this without scratching"

If you've ever been driven crazy by mosquito bites, poison ivy, or chicken pox, you understand well how annoying an itch can be—and how difficult it is to resist the impulse to scratch it. But imagine being one of the many people who suffer from chronic itching. Some causes include skin disorders such as eczema and psoriasis, nerve damage, liver failure, and overactive thyroid, among others. For these people, scratching often simply doesn't work—the itch may be momentarily relieved, only to come right back again (Bautista, Wilson, & Hoon, 2014). For many years the medical profession didn't take seriously the suffering caused by itching. Itching was commonly thought to be just a mild form of pain. Because the most common kind of itch (such as that produced by insect bites) is triggered by the release of histamines by skin cells, the routine medical treatment for itching was to prescribe antihistamine pills or ointments. While these work great for the mild itch of a mosquito bite, they often don't do anything for the much more excruciating and relentless chronic itch. Source: CDC/James Gathany Happily, science is starting to take a harder look at itching—what it is, what causes it—and how to relieve it. But it's proving to be a difficult phenomenon to nail down. Much more than just a form of pain, itching involves multiple brain regions beyond those associated with mere sensation, including regions associated with reward, pleasure, and even addiction. Certain cellular substances apart from histamine have been implicated in chronic itching, as have certain types of nerve cells and specific cellular receptors (Papoiu et al., 2013; Bautista, Wilson, & Hoon, 2014). A particular receptor in mice located in the spinal cord, called the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor, has been associated with itching but not pain. Mice that do not have this receptor, or in which the action of the receptor has been blocked, don't itch. And just as important, they don't experience any particular negative effects. This finding gives researchers hope for the treatment of a new kind of anti-itching drug for humans. "If you block function of this receptor alone, you pretty much stop chronic itching," said Zhou-Feng Chen, the lead researcher. Good news for the mice, and good news for psoriasis sufferers everywhere

neuroplasticity

Scientists have learned in recent years that the brain continually changes, reorganizes itself, and is far more resilient than once thought. Neuroplasticity refers to changes in the brain that occur throughout the life span relating to the addition of new neurons, new interconnections between neurons, and the reorganization of information-processing areas. For example, although for many years conventional wisdom held that no new brain cells are created after childhood, new research finds otherwise. Not only do the interconnections between neurons become more complex throughout life, but it now appears that new neurons are also created in certain areas of the brain during adulthood—a process called neurogenesis

emotional intelligence

Some psychologists broaden the concept of intelligence even further beyond the intellectual realm to include emotions. Emotional intelligence is the set of skills that underlie the accurate assessment, evaluation, expression, and regulation of emotions (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2004, 2008; Humphrey, Curran, & Morris, 2007). Emotional intelligence is the basis of empathy for others, self-awareness, and social skills. It encompasses the ability to get along well with others. It provides us with an understanding of what other people are feeling and experiencing, which permits us to respond appropriately to others' needs. These abilities may help explain why people with only modest scores on traditional intelligence tests can be quite successful: the basis of their success may be a high emotional intelligence, which allows them to respond appropriately and quickly to others' feelings.

intelligence

The definition of intelligence that psychologists employ contains some of the same elements found in the layperson's conception. To psychologists, intelligence is the capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challenges.

psychologist's portrait/diversity

"Although there is no "average" psychologist in terms of personal characteristics, we can draw a statistical portrait of the field. There are nearly 200,000 active psychologists working today in the United States, but they are outnumbered by psychologists in other countries. Europe has more than 290,000 psychologists, and in Brazil alone there are 140,000 licensed psychologists. Although most research is conducted in the United States, psychologists in other countries are increasingly influential in adding to the knowledge base and practices of psychology In the United States, women outnumber men in the field, a big change from earlier years when women faced bias and were actively discouraged from becoming psychologists. Today, women far outnumber male psychologists: for every one male, there are 2.1 female psychologists. There is an active debate about whether, and how, to seek balance in the percentage of men and women in the field The majority of psychologists in the United States are white, limiting the diversity of the field. Only around 16% of all professionally active psychologists are members of racial minority groups. Although the number of minority individuals entering the field is far greater than it was a decade ago and continues to grow, the numbers have not kept up with the dramatic growth of the minority population at large. The underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities among psychologists is significant for several reasons. First, the field of psychology is diminished by a lack of the diverse perspectives and talents that minority-group members can provide. Furthermore, minority-group psychologists serve as role models for members of minority communities, and their underrepresentation in the profession might deter other minority-group members from entering the field. Finally, because members of minority groups often prefer to receive psychological therapy from treatment providers of their own race or ethnic group, the rarity of minority psychologists can discourage some members of minority groups from seeking treatment"

prologue - "a man-made catastrophe"

"At first the loud popping noises seemed like they were a part of the show at Pulse, a well-known gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. But as people began to drop to the floor, injured and dying, panicky clubgoers rushed to escape what turned out to be a barrage of bullets. Until he himself was killed by the police, the shooter, Omar Mateen, murdered and injured scores of people over the next three hours. It was the worst act of domestic terrorism in the United States other than the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, showing the darkest side of human behavior. But at the same time the carnage was occurring, the best of humanity was also on display. Some people rushed to help the wounded, and survivors comforted those who were near death. Strangers risked their own lives to help those in desperate need. There was an outpouring of grief around the world."

prologue "facebook junkie?"

"Can you be addicted to social media? Citing research findings (e.g., the average teen checks social media 11 times a day; two-thirds of teens report they couldn't survive a month without texting), some researchers are labeling frequent social media use a compulsion, and likening it to addictions such as gambling and alcoholism. They cite the characteristics that frequent social media users share with addicts: constant need for stimulation, desire for peer approval, need for instant gratification, and narcissistic impulses. Less convinced researchers point to brain studies showing that, while the brains of both social media "junkies" and drug addicts show increased activity in the amygdala and striatum (brain regions linked to impulsive behavior), the brain systems that inhibit these behaviors remain stable in social media users, in contrast with those of substance addicts (Sass, 2015; Ghose, 2015)."

applying psychology in the 21st century - psychology matters

"Investigators search for clues at site of suicide bombing." "Good jobs for college graduates remain hard to find." "Eyewitness to killing proves unable to provide reliable clues." "Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram change how people interact with others." "Childhood obesity rates surge." A quick review of any day's news headlines reminds us that the world is beset by a variety of stubborn problems that resist easy solutions. At the same time, a considerable number of psychologists are devoting their energies and expertise to addressing these problems and improving the human condition. Let's consider some of the ways in which psychology has addressed and helped work toward solutions of major societal problems: What are the causes of terrorism? What motivates suicide bombers? Are they psychologically disordered, or can their behavior be seen as a rational response to a particular system of beliefs? As we'll see when we discuss psychological disorders, psychologists are gaining an understanding of the factors that lead people to embrace suicide and to engage in terrorism to further a cause in which they deeply believe (Mintz & Brule, 2009; Post et al., 2009; Post 2015). How are social media changing the way we live? Social networking media such as Facebook and Twitter have changed the way people communicate and the way news spreads around the world. How do social media affect the way people relate to each other? How do they affect our perceptions of world events? Psychologists are examining the motivations behind social networking, its influence on individuals and social institutions, and possible beneficial applications of the technology (Rice, Milburn, & Monro, 2011; Kosinski et al., 2015; Toma & Choi, 2015). What is it that leads suicide bombers to seek to injure others? Case studies can help us to understand the motivation behind such actions. Source: © Stringer/EPA/Newscom What are the roots of autism spectrum disorder, and why is it on the rise? Autism spectrum disorder is a severe developmental disability that impairs one's ability to communicate and relate to others. It exists on a continuum from mild symptoms, such as social awkwardness, to profound dysfunction, such as a complete inability to communicate or care for oneself. Psychologists are rapidly gaining insights into the hereditary and environmental factors that influence autism; the need for this understanding is urgent because the incidence of autism has been growing sharply in recent years and it's unclear why (Silverman, 2012; Pelphrey & Shultz, 2013; Gillespie-Lynch et al., 2015). Why do eyewitnesses to crimes often remember the events inaccurately, and how can we increase the precision of eyewitness accounts? Psychologists' research has come to an important conclusion: Eyewitness testimony in criminal cases is often inaccurate and biased. Memories of crimes are often clouded by emotion, and the questions asked by police investigators often elicit inaccurate responses. Work by psychologists has been used to provide national guidelines for obtaining more accurate memories during criminal investigations (Busey & Loftus, 2007; Beaudry et al., 2015; Wixted et al., 2015). What are the roots of obesity, and how can healthier eating and better physical fitness be encouraged? Why are some people more predisposed to obesity than others are? What social factors might be at play in the rising rate of obesity in childhood? As is becoming increasingly clear, obesity is a complex problem with biological, psychological, and social underpinnings. Therefore, to be successful, approaches to treating obesity must take many factors into account. There is no magic bullet providing a quick fix, but psychologists recommend a number of strategies that help make weight-loss goals more achievable (MacLean et al., 2009; Neumark-Sztainer, 2009; Puhl & Liu, 2015). What gives people satisfaction with life and a sense of well being? Research has found that during difficult economic times, it's important to understand that wealth and possessions don't make people happy. Instead, happiness comes from enjoying life's little moments and finding purpose and meaning in what you do

prologue "rebooting her system"

"Jaime Russell-Polhemus, mother of three and manager of a small business, began to experience back pain, stiffness, and fatigue. Soon, she was suffering from abnormal heart rate, low blood pressure, and tremors. Two years later, any sound, touch, or emotional stress triggered painful, intense muscle spasms. Jaime was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder. To treat this progressive and deadly autoimmune disease, she was given a course of strong drugs, which was only partially effective. She then entered trials for a new autoimmune disease treatment—a stem cell transplant—at Northwestern University. Her stem cells were harvested, then re-implanted after her diseased immune system was treated with chemo. The hope? The stem cells will reprogram her "cleaned up" immune system to function properly again (Renken, 2015). Jaime's mysterious and devastating disorder appears to be the result of one particular antibody improperly interfering with an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Although it is too early to know if her revolutionary treatment has been able to "reboot" Jaime's immune system and return a normal life to her, her medical team is optimistic."

reinforcement

-" Reinforcement is the process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated. In other words, pressing the lever is more likely to occur again because of the stimulus of food. In a situation such as this one, the food is called a reinforcer. A reinforcer is any stimulus that increases the probability that a preceding behavior will occur again. Hence, food is a reinforcer, because it increases the probability that the behavior of pressing (formally referred to as the response of pressing) will take place.

bobo doll/observational learning

-According to psychologist Albert Bandura and colleagues, a major part of human learning consists of observational learning, which is learning by watching the behavior of another person, or model. Because of its reliance on observation of others—a social phenomenon—the perspective taken by Bandura is often referred to as a social cognitive approach to learning (Bandura, 2004, 2009). Bandura dramatically demonstrated the ability of models to stimulate learning in a classic experiment. In the study, young children saw a film of an adult wildly hitting a 5-foot-tall inflatable punching toy called a Bobo doll (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963a, 1963b). Later the children were given the opportunity to play with the Bobo doll themselves, and, sure enough, most displayed the same kind of behavior, in some cases mimicking the aggressive behavior almost identically. Not only negative behaviors are acquired through observational learning. In one experiment, for example, children who were afraid of dogs were exposed to a model—dubbed the Fearless Peer—playing with a dog (Bandura, Grusec, & Menlove, 1967). After exposure, observers were considerably more likely to approach a strange dog than were children who had not viewed the Fearless Peer

hypothalamus

-Another of the body's communication systems, the endocrine system is a chemical communication network that sends messages throughout the body via the bloodstream. Its job is to secrete hormones, chemicals that circulate through the blood and regulate the functioning or growth of the body. It also influences—and is influenced by—the functioning of the nervous system. Although the endocrine system is not part of the brain, it is closely linked to the hypothalamus.

color blindness

-Approximately 7% of men and 0.4% of women are color blind. For most people with color-blindness, the world looks quite dull (see Figure 6). Red fire engines appear yellow, green grass seems yellow, and the three colors of a traffic light all look yellow. In fact, in the most common form of color-blindness, all red and green objects are seen as yellow. In other forms of color-blindness, people are unable to tell the difference between yellow and blue. In the most extreme cases of color-blindness, which are quite rare, people perceive no color at all. To such individuals, the world looks something like the picture on an old black-and-white TV

consciousness

-Consciousness is the awareness of the sensations, thoughts, and feelings we experience at a given moment. Consciousness is our subjective understanding of both the environment around us and our private internal world, unobservable to outsiders. In waking consciousness, we are awake and aware of our thoughts, emotions, and perceptions. All other states of consciousness are considered altered states of consciousness. Among these, sleeping and dreaming occur naturally; drug use and hypnosis, in contrast, are methods of deliberately altering one's state of consciousness.

pros and cons of punishment

-Is punishment an effective way to modify behavior? Punishment often presents the quickest route to changing behavior that, if allowed to continue, might be dangerous to an individual. For instance, a parent may not have a second chance to warn a child not to run into a busy street, and so punishing the first incidence of this behavior may prove to be wise. Moreover, the use of punishment to suppress behavior, even temporarily, provides an opportunity to reinforce a person for subsequently behaving in a more desirable way. However, punishment has several disadvantages that make its routine use questionable. For one thing, punishment is frequently ineffective, particularly if it is not delivered shortly after the undesired behavior or if the individual is able to leave the setting in which the punishment is being given. An employee who is reprimanded by the boss may quit; a teenager who loses the use of the family car may borrow a friend's car instead. In such instances, the initial behavior that is being punished may be replaced by one that is even less desirable. Even worse, physical punishment can convey to the recipient the idea that physical aggression is permissible and perhaps even desirable. A father who yells at and hits his son for misbehaving teaches the son that aggression is an appropriate, adult response. The son soon may copy his father's behavior by acting aggressively toward others. In addition, physical punishment is often administered by people who are themselves angry or enraged. It is unlikely that individuals in such an emotional state will be able to think through what they are doing or control carefully the degree of punishment they are inflicting. Ultimately, those who resort to physical punishment run the risk that they will grow to be feared. Punishment can also reduce the self-esteem of recipients unless they can understand the reasons for it (Zolotor et al., 2008; Miller-Perrin, Perrin, & Kocur, 2009; Smith, Springer, & Barrett, 2011). Page 173 Finally, punishment does not convey any information about what an alternative, more appropriate behavior might be. To be useful in bringing about more desirable behavior in the future, punishment must be accompanied by specific information about the behavior that is being punished, along with specific suggestions concerning a more desirable behavior. Punishing a child for staring out the window in school could merely lead her to stare at the floor instead. Unless we teach her appropriate ways to respond, we have merely managed to substitute one undesirable behavior for another. If punishment is not followed up with reinforcement for subsequent behavior that is more appropriate, little will be accomplished. That's why the scientific research is clear: spanking is both ineffective and ultimately harmful to children. Even punishment in the form of yelling is damaging (Wang & Kenny, 2013; Kubanek, Snyder, & Abrams, 2015). In short, reinforcing desired behavior is a more appropriate technique for modifying behavior than is using punishment. Both in and out of the scientific arena, then, reinforcement usually beats punishment (Hiby, Rooney, & Bradshaw, 2004; Sidman, 2006; Hall et al., 2011).

pavlov/classical conditioning

-Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, never intended to do psychological research. In 1904 he won the Nobel Prize for his work on digestion, testimony to his contribution to that field. Yet Pavlov is remembered not for his physiological research but for his experiments on basic learning processes—work that he began quite accidentally -Pavlov had been studying the secretion of stomach acids and salivation in dogs in response to eating varying amounts and kinds of food. While doing his research, he observed a curious phenomenon: Sometimes salivation would begin in the dogs when they had not yet eaten any food. Just the sight of the experimenter who normally brought the food, or even the sound of the experimenter's footsteps, was enough to produce salivation in the dogs. Pavlov's genius lay in his ability to recognize the implications of this discovery. He saw that the dogs were responding not only on the basis of a biological need (hunger) but also as a result of learning—or, as it came to be called, classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus (such as the experimenter's footsteps) comes to elicit a response after being paired with a stimulus (such as food) that naturally brings about that response.

gestalt laws

-Known as gestalt laws of organization, these principles were set forth in the early 1900s by a group of German psychologists who studied patterns, or gestalts (Wertheimer, 1923). Those psychologists discovered a number of important principles that are valid for visual (as well as auditory) stimuli, illustrated in Figure 2: closure, proximity, similarity, and simplicity. -Gestalt psychologists argued that the perception of stimuli in our environment goes well beyond the individual elements that we sense. Instead, it represents an active, constructive process carried out within the brain

nuerons

-Neurons, or nerve cells, are the basic elements of the nervous system. Their quantity is staggering—perhaps as many as 1 trillion neurons throughout the body are involved in the control of behavior -In contrast to most other cells, however, neurons have a distinctive feature: the ability to communicate with other cells and transmit information across relatively long distances

hypnosis

-People under hypnosis are in a trancelike state of heightened susceptibility to the suggestions of others. In some respects, it appears that they are asleep. Yet other aspects of their behavior contradict this notion, for people are attentive to the hypnotist's suggestions and may carry out bizarre or silly suggestions. -here are wide variations in people's susceptibility to hypnosis. About 5% to 20% of the population cannot be hypnotized at all, and some 15% are very easily hypnotized. Most people fall somewhere in between. Moreover, the ease with which a person is hypnotized is related to a number of other characteristics. People who are readily hypnotized are also easily absorbed while reading books or listening to music, becoming unaware of what is happening around them, and they often spend an unusual amount of time daydreaming. In sum, then, they show a high ability to concentrate and to become completely absorbed in what they are doing

ethics of research

-Protection of participants from physical and mental harm. -The right of participants to privacy regarding their behavior. -The assurance that participation in research is completely voluntary. -The necessity of informing participants about the nature of procedures before their participation in the experiment. -All experiments must be reviewed by an independent panel before being conducted

extrasensory perception

-Psychologists are highly skeptical of reports of extrasensory perception, or ESP—perception that does not involve our known senses.

prologue "the power of meditation"

-Renata Tebaldi, in her early 30s, has had three bouts of depression, but she says meditation helped prevent a relapse. She first suffered depression following the death of her mother. Although she was prescribed antidepressants, she didn't want to rely on drugs. So she turned to mindfulness meditation. Tebaldi learned to use meditation to relax. She was taught how to focus on her breathing and to spend time thinking about everyday things such as the sound of birds. It soon became second nature, and it helped her relieve her daily life stress enough to prevent a relapse of her depression.

subliminal perception

-Subliminal perception refers to the perception of messages about which we have no awareness. The stimulus could be a written word, a sound, or even a smell that activates the sensory system but that is not intense enough for a person to report having experienced it. For example, in some studies people are exposed to a descriptive label—called a prime—about a person (such as the word smart or happy) so briefly that they cannot report seeing the label. Later, however, they form impressions that are influenced by the content of the prime. Somehow, they have been influenced by the prime that they say they couldn't see, providing some evidence for subliminal perception

central nervous system

-The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system encompasses the network of nerves connecting the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body -Several kinds of neurons are involved in reflexes. Sensory (afferent) neurons transmit information from the perimeter of the body to the central nervous system and the brain. For example, touching a hot stove sends a message to the brain (hot!) via sensory neurons. Motor (efferent) neurons communicate information in the opposite direction, from the brain and nervous system to muscles and glands. When the brain sends a message to the muscles of the hand (hot—move away!), the message travels via motor neurons.

REM sleep

-This period of sleep is called rapid eye movement, or REM sleep, and it contrasts with stages 1 through 4, which are collectively labeled non-REM (or NREM) sleep. REM sleep occupies a little more than 20% of adults' total sleeping time. -Paradoxically, while all this activity is occurring, the major muscles of the body appear to be paralyzed. In addition, and most important, REM sleep is usually accompanied by dreams, which—whether or not people remember them—are experienced by everyone during some part of their night's sleep

thorndike/operant conditioning

-Thorndike's early research served as the foundation for the work of one of the 20th century's most influential psychologists, B. F. Skinner (1904-1990). You may have heard of the Skinner box (shown in Figure 2), a chamber with a highly controlled environment that was used to study operant conditioning processes with laboratory animals. Whereas Thorndike's goal was to get his cats to learn to obtain food by leaving the box, animals in a Skinner box learn to obtain food by operating on their environment within the box. Skinner became interested in specifying how behavior varies as a result of alterations in the environment. -Skinner called the process that leads the rat to continue pressing the key "reinforcement." Reinforcement is the process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated. In other words, pressing the lever is more likely to occur again because of the stimulus of food. In a situation such as this one, the food is called a reinforcer. A reinforcer is any stimulus that increases the probability that a preceding behavior will occur again. Hence, food is a reinforcer, because it increases the probability that the behavior of pressing (formally referred to as the response of pressing) will take place. What kind of stimuli can act as reinforcers? Bonuses, toys, and good grades can serve as reinforcers—if they strengthen the probability of the response that occurred before their introduction. What makes something a reinforcer depends on individual preferences.

freud's theory/dreams

-Using psychoanalytic theory, Sigmund Freud viewed dreams as a guide to the unconscious (Freud, 1900). In his unconscious wish fulfillment theory, he proposed that dreams represent unconscious wishes that dreamers desire to see fulfilled. To Freud, the manifest content of the dream is what we remember and report about the dream—its storyline. The manifest content, however, disguises the latent content, which includes the actual, underlying wishes that the dream represents. Because the underlying wishes (the latent content) are threatening to the dreamer, they are hidden in the dream's storyline (the manifest content).

prologue "stuck in the past"/hyperthymesia

-What do Jill Price, Brad Williams, and Rick Baron have in common? They are among the handful of people diagnosed with hyperthymestic syndrome, a condition in which a person can recall the events of their own past in extraordinary detail. Ask any one of them what they were doing on a specific date and they will be able to tell you where they were, who else was there, what was happening, and even how they felt. For Jill and Rick, this ability dates from their early adolescence, but Brad can remember everything back to age five. While most of us would like to improve our memory, people with hyperthymesia often feel overwhelmed because the memories continually flood their thoughts. It's like reliving your past every moment of the present

four types of descriptive research

-archival research: existing data, such as census documents, college records, online databases, and newspaper articles, are examined to test a hypothesis. For example, college transcripts may Page 27be used to determine if there are gender differences in academic performance. -naturalistic observation: in naturalistic observation, the investigator observes some naturally occurring behavior and does not make a change in the situation. For example, a researcher investigating helping behavior might observe the kind of help given to victims in a high-crime area of a city. The important point to remember about naturalistic observation is that the researcher simply records what occurs, making no modification in the situation that is being observed -survey research: in survey research, a sample of people chosen to represent a larger group of interest (a population) is asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts, or attitudes. -case study: is an in-depth, intensive investigation of a single individual or a small group. Case studies often include psychological testing, a procedure in which a carefully designed set of questions is used to gain some insight into the personality of the individual or group

five perspectives

-neuroscience: views behavior from the perspective of biological functioning -cognitive: examines how people understand and think about the world -behavioral: focuses on the observable behavior -humanistic: contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try and reach their full potential -psychodynamic: believes that behavior is motivated by inner, unconscious forces over which a person has little control

evolutionary psychology

-the branch of psychology that seeks to identify behavior patterns that are a result of our genetic inheritance, has led to increased understanding of the evolutionary basis of the structure and organization of the human nervous system.

wilhelm wundt

-the formal beginning of psychology as a scientific discipline is generally considered to be in the late 19th century, when Wilhelm Wundt, in Leipzig, Germany, established the first experimental laboratory devoted to psychological phenomena -When Wundt set up his laboratory in 1879, his aim was to study the building blocks of the mind. He considered psychology to be the study of conscious experience. His perspective, which came to be known as structuralism, focused on uncovering the fundamental mental components of perception, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental states and activities. -To determine how basic sensory processes shape our understanding of the world, Wundt and other structuralists used a procedure called introspection, in which they presented people with a stimulus—such as a bright green object or a sentence printed on a card—and asked them to describe, in their own words and in as much detail as they could, what they were experiencing. Wundt argued that by analyzing people's reports, psychologists could come to a better understanding of the structure of the mind. -Over time, psychologists challenged Wundt's approach. They became increasingly dissatisfied with the assumption that introspection could reveal the structure of the mind. Introspection was not a truly scientific technique, because there were few ways an outside observer could confirm the accuracy of others' introspections. Moreover, people had difficulty describing some kinds of inner experiences, such as emotional responses. Those drawbacks led to the development of new approaches, which largely replaced structuralism. -The perspective that replaced structuralism is known as functionalism. Rather than focusing on the mind's structure, functionalism concentrated on what the mind does and how behavior functions. Functionalists, whose perspective became prominent in the early 1900s, asked what role behavior plays in allowing people to adapt to their environments. For example, a functionalist might examine the function of the emotion of fear in preparing us to deal with emergency situations.

psychology

-the scientific study of behavior and mental processes -most psychologists would argue that the field should be receptive to a variety of viewpoints and approaches -the phrase behavior and mental processes in the definition of psychology must be understood to mean many things: It encompasses not just what people do but also their thoughts, emotions, perceptions, reasoning processes, memories, and even the biological activities that maintain bodily functioning -psychologists try to describe, predict, and explain human behavior and mental processes, as well as helping to change and improve the lives of people and the world in which they live

prologue "the doctor is...a machine!"

A few years ago, "Watson" astounded the world by beating the reigning champions of the TV quiz show Jeopardy! Watson, IBM's cognitive computing system, can understand questions posed in natural language and answer them. It's also capable of learning. The next year, the machine was piloted as a cyber-assistant to oncology physicians. To do this, Watson had been retooled to handle hundreds of simultaneous queries from clinicians about complex medical questions, a process that involved feeding the machine 600,000 pieces of medical data and two million pages of text. Using a quiz-show format, Watson was given a list of symptoms and had to identify the corresponding ailment. When wrong, Watson was corrected and then it modified its algorithms accordingly. Today, Watson not only recommends treatments, it also makes diagnoses, often more accurately than human physicians can

adaptation

Adaptation is an adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli. Adaptation occurs as people become accustomed to a stimulus and change their frame of reference. In a sense, our brain mentally turns down the volume of the stimulation that it's experiencing

cognitive psychology

Answers to these questions come from cognitive psychology, the branch of psychology that focuses on the study of higher mental processes, including thinking, language, memory, problem solving, knowing, reasoning, judging, and decision making. Clearly, the realm of cognitive psychology is broad.

becoming an informed consumer - "managing pain"

Are you one of the 100 million people in the United States who suffer from chronic pain? Psychologists and medical specialists have devised several strategies to fight pain. Among the most important approaches are these: Medication. Painkilling drugs are the most popular treatment in fighting pain. Drugs range from those that directly treat the source of the pain—such as reducing swelling in painful joints—to those that work on the symptoms. Medication can be in the form of pills, patches, injections, or liquids. In a recent innovation, drugs are pumped directly into the spinal cord (Kalb, 2003; Pesmen, 2006; Bagnall, 2010). Nerve and brain stimulation. Pain can sometimes be relieved when a low-voltage electric current is passed through the specific part of the body that is in pain. For example, in peripheral-nerve stimulation, a tiny battery-operated generator is implanted in the lower back. In even more severe cases, electrodes can be implanted surgically directly into the brain, or a handheld battery pack can stimulate nerve cells to provide direct relief (Tugay et al., 2007; Landro, 2010; Tan et al., 2011). Light therapy. One of the newest forms of pain reduction involves exposure to specific wavelengths of red or infrared light. Certain kinds of light increase the production of enzymes that may promote healing (Underwood, 2005; Evcik et al., 2007). Hypnosis. For people who can be hypnotized—and not everyone is susceptible—hypnosis can greatly relieve pain. In fact, it can affect the brain and spinal-cord functioning in injured people, actually improving their physical functioning (Accardi & Milling, 2009; Lee & Raja, 2011; Jensen & Patterson, 2014). Biofeedback and relaxation techniques. Using biofeedback, people learn to control what are usually involuntary functions such as heartbeat, respiration, blood pressure, and muscle tension. For instance, people with tension headaches or back pain can be trained to relax their bodies to bring themselves relief (Nestoriuc & Martin, 2007; Vitiello, Bonello, & Pollard, 2007). Surgery. In one of the most extreme methods, specific nerve fibers that carry pain messages to the brain can be cut surgically. Still, because of the danger that other bodily functions will be affected, surgery is a treatment of last resort, used most frequently with dying patients (Cullinane, Chu, & Mamelak, 2002; Amid & Chen, 2011). Cognitive restructuring. Cognitive treatments are effective for people who continually say to themselves, "This pain will never stop," "The pain is ruining my life," or "I can't take it anymore," and are thereby likely to make their pain even worse. By substituting more positive ways of thinking, people can increase their sense of control—and actually reduce the pain they experience (Bogart et al., 2007; Liedl et al., 2011; Ehde, Dillworth, & Turner, 2014). Mirror pain therapy. One surprising treatment for people who suffer from phantom-limb pain (where a person with an amputated limb experiences pain where the missing limb used to be) employs mirrors. By using a mirror to make it appear that both limbs are intact, the brain of the amputee stops sending messages perceived as pain (Foell et al., 2014).

intelligence quotient (IQ)

Assigning a mental age to students provided an indication of their general level of performance. However, it did not allow for adequate comparisons among people of different chronological ages. By using mental age alone, for instance, we might assume that an 18-year-old responding at a 20-year-old's level would be demonstrating the same degree of intelligence as a 5-year-old answering at a 7-year-old's level, when actually the 5-year-old would be displaying a much greater relative degree of intelligence. Page 258A solution to the problem came in the form of the intelligence quotient (IQ), a measure of intelligence that takes into account an individual's mental and chronological (physical) age. Historically, the first IQ scores employed the following formula, in which MA stands for mental age and CA for chronological age: IQ score = MA CA × 100 IQ score MA CA 100 Using this formula, we can return to the earlier example of an 18-year-old performing at a mental age of 20 and calculate an IQ score of (20/18) × 100 = 111. In contrast, the 5-year-old performing at a mental age of 7 comes out with a considerably higher IQ score: (7/5) × 100 = 140.

behavior modification

Behavior modification is a technique for increasing the frequency of desirable behaviors and decreasing the incidence of unwanted ones. Using the basic principles of learning theory, behavior-modification techniques have proved to be helpful in a variety of situations. People with severe intellectual disability have, for the first time in their lives, started dressing and feeding themselves. Behavior modification has also helped people lose weight, give up smoking, and behave more safely (Carels et al., 2011; Geller, 2011; Etienne, 2013). The techniques used by behavior analysts are as varied as the list of processes that modify behavior. They include reinforcement scheduling, shaping, generalization training, discrimination training, and extinction. Participants in a behavior-change program do, however, typically follow a series of similar basic steps that include the following: Identifying goals and target behaviors. The first step is to define desired behavior. Is it an increase in time spent studying? A decrease in weight? An increase in the use of language? A reduction in the amount of aggression displayed by a child? The goals must be stated in observable terms and must lead to specific targets. For instance, a goal might be "to increase study time," whereas the target behavior would be "to study at least 2 hours per day on weekdays and an hour on Saturdays."Page 179 Designing a data-recording system and recording preliminary data. To determine whether behavior has changed, it is necessary to collect data before any changes are made in the situation. This information provides a baseline against which future changes can be measured. Selecting a behavior-change strategy. The crucial step is to choose an appropriate strategy. Typically, a variety of treatments is used. This might include the systematic use of positive reinforcement for desired behavior (verbal praise or something more tangible, such as food), as well as a program of extinction for undesirable behavior (ignoring a child who throws a tantrum). Selecting the right reinforcers is critical, and it may be necessary to experiment a bit to find out what is important to a particular individual. Implementing the program. Probably the most important aspect of program implementation is consistency. It is also important to reinforce the intended behavior. For example, suppose a mother wants her son to spend more time on his homework, but as soon as he sits down to study, he asks for a snack. If the mother gets a snack for him, she is likely to be reinforcing her son's delaying tactic, not his studying. Keeping careful records after the program is implemented. Another crucial task is record keeping. If the target behaviors are not monitored, there is no way of knowing whether the program has actually been successful. Evaluating and altering the ongoing program. Finally, the results of the program should be compared with baseline, pre-implementation data to determine its effectiveness. If the program has been successful, the procedures employed can be phased out gradually. For instance, if the program called for reinforcing every instance of picking up one's clothes from the bedroom floor, the reinforcement schedule could be modified to a fixed-ratio schedule in which every third instance was reinforced. However, if the program has not been successful in bringing about the desired behavior change, consideration of other approaches might be advisable. Behavior-change techniques based on these general principles have enjoyed wide success and have proved to be one of the most powerful means of modifying behavior. Clearly, it is possible to employ the basic notions of learning theory to improve our lives.

exploring diversity "cross-cultural routes to altered states of consciousness"

Each of these rituals has a common goal: suspension from the bonds of everyday awareness and access to an altered state of consciousness. Although they may seem exotic from the vantage point of many Western cultures, these rituals represent an apparently universal effort to alter consciousness (Bartocci, 2004; Irwin, 2006). Some scholars suggest that the quest to alter consciousness represents a basic human desire. Whether or not we accept such an extreme view, variations in states of consciousness clearly share some basic characteristics across a variety of cultures. One is an alteration in thinking, which may become shallow, illogical, or otherwise different from normal. In addition, people's sense of time can become disturbed, and their perceptions of the physical world and of themselves may change. They may lose self-control, doing things that they would never otherwise do. Finally, they may feel a sense of ineffability—the inability to understand an experience rationally or describe it in words (Finkler, 2004; Travis, 2006). Of course, realizing that efforts to produce altered states of consciousness are widespread throughout the world's societies does not answer a fundamental question: Is the experience of unaltered states of consciousness similar across different cultures? Because humans share basic biological commonalities in the ways their brains and bodies are wired, we might assume that the fundamental experience of consciousness is similar across cultures. As a result, we could suppose that consciousness shows some basic similarities across cultures. However, the ways in which certain aspects of consciousness are interpreted and viewed show substantial differences from culture to culture. For example, people in disparate cultures view the experience of the passage of time in varying ways. For instance, Arabs appear to perceive the passage of time more slowly than North Americans do

flashbulb memory

For anyone old enough to recall the day of the terrorist attacks that brought down the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, they probably have little trouble recalling their exact location when they heard the news about the terrorist attack, even though the incident happened years ago. Their ability to remember details about this fatal event illustrates a phenomenon known as flashbulb memory. Flashbulb memories are memories related to a specific, important, or surprising event that are so vivid they represent a virtual snapshot of the event. Several types of flashbulb memories are common among college students. For example, involvement in a car accident, meeting one's roommate for the first time, and the night of high school graduation are all typical flashbulb memories

becoming an informed consumer "identifying drug and alcohol problems"

In a society bombarded with commercials for drugs that are guaranteed to cure everything from restless leg syndrome to erectile dysfunction, it is no wonder that drug-related problems are a major social issue. Yet many people with drug and alcohol problems deny that they have them, and even close friends and family members may fail to realize when occasional social use of drugs or alcohol has turned into abuse. Certain signs, however, indicate when use becomes abuse (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2000). Among them are the following: Always getting high to have a good time. Being high more often than not. Getting high to get oneself going. Going to work or class while high. Missing or being unprepared for class or work because you were high. Feeling bad later about something you said or did while high. Driving a car while high. Coming in conflict with the law because of drugs. Doing something while high that you wouldn't do otherwise. Being high in nonsocial, solitary situations. Being unable to stop getting high. Feeling a need for a drink or a drug to get through the day. Becoming physically unhealthy. Failing at school or on the job. Thinking about liquor or drugs all the time. Avoiding family or friends while using liquor or drugs. Page 155 Any combination of these symptoms should be sufficient to alert you to the potential of a serious drug problem. Because drug and alcohol dependence are almost impossible to cure on one's own, people who suspect that they have a problem should seek immediate attention from a psychologist, physician, or counselor.

culture fair IQ test

In an attempt to produce a culture-fair IQ test, one that does not discriminate against the members of any minority group, psychologists have tried to devise test items that assess experiences common to all cultures or emphasize questions that do not require language usage. However, test makers have found this difficult to do because past experiences, attitudes, and values almost always have an impact on respondents' answers (Fagan & Holland, 2009; Rizzi & Posthuma, 2013). For example, children raised in Western cultures group things on the basis of what they are (such as putting dog and fish into the category of animal). In contrast, members of the Kpelle tribe in Africa see intelligence demonstrated by grouping things according to what they do (grouping fish with swim). Similarly, when asked to memorize the positions on a chessboard of objects typical to a U.S. household, children in the United States performed better than did children living in remote African villages. But if rocks are used instead of household objects, the African children do better. In short, it is difficult to produce a truly culture-fair test (Sandoval et al., 1998; Valencia & Suzuki, 2003; Barnett et al., 2011). The efforts of psychologists to produce culture-fair measures of intelligence relate to a lingering controversy over differences in intelligence between members of different racial and ethnic groups. In attempting to identify whether there are differences between such groups, psychologists have had to confront the broader issue of determining the relative contribution to intelligence of genetic factors (heredity) and experience (environment)—the nature-nurture issue that is one of the basic issues of psychology. Richard Herrnstein, a psychologist, and Charles Murray, a sociologist, fanned the flames of the debate with the publication of their book The Bell Curve in the mid-1990s (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994). They argued that an analysis of IQ differences between whites and blacks demonstrated that although environmental factors played a role, there were also basic genetic differences between the two races. They based their argument on a number of findings. For instance, on average, whites score 15 points higher than blacks on traditional IQ tests even when socioeconomic status (SES) is taken into account. According to Herrnstein and Murray, middle- and upper-SES blacks score lower than middle- and upper-SES whites, just as lower-SES blacks score lower on average than lower-SES whites. Intelligence differences between blacks and whites, they concluded, could not be attributed to environmental differences alone. However, this was a conclusion, as we shall see, that was soon refuted.

memory

In sum, psychologists consider memory to be the process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information (see Figure 1). Each of the three parts of this definition—encoding, storage, and retrieval—represents a different process. You can think of these processes as being analogous to a computer's keyboard (encoding), hard drive (storage), and software that accesses the information for display on the screen (retrieval). Only if all three processes have operated will you experience success and be able to recall the body of water on which Mumbai is located: the Arabian Sea. FIGURE 1 Memory is built on three basic processes—encoding, storage, and retrieval—that are analogous to a computer's keyboard, hard drive, and software to access the information for display on the screen. The analogy is not perfect, however, because human memory is less precise than a computer. How might you modify the analogy to make it more accurate? Recognizing that memory involves encoding, storage, and retrieval gives us a start in understanding the concept. But how does memory actually function? How do we explain what information is initially encoded, what gets stored, and how it is retrieved? According to the three-system approach to memory that dominated memory research for several decades, there are different memory storage systems or stages through which information must travel if it is to be remembered (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968, 1971). Historically, the approach has been extremely influential in the development of our understanding of memory, and—although new theories have augmented it—it still provides a useful framework for understanding how information is recalled.Page 194 The three-system memory theory proposes the existence of the three separate memory stores shown in Figure 2. Sensory memory refers to the initial, momentary storage of information that lasts only an instant. Here an exact replica of the stimulus recorded by a person's sensory system is stored very briefly. In a second stage, short-term memory holds information for 15 to 25 seconds and stores it according to its meaning rather than as mere sensory stimulation. The third type of storage system is long-term memory. Information is stored in long-term memory on a relatively permanent basis, although it may be difficult to retrieve.

narcotics

Narcotics are drugs that increase relaxation and relieve pain and anxiety. Two of the most powerful narcotics, morphine and heroin, are derived from the poppy seed pod. Although morphine is used medically to control severe pain, heroin is illegal in the United States. This status has not prevented its widespread abuse.

applying psychology "does playing video games improve your thinking?"

People who love video games often spend a great many hours engaged in their pastime. One rationalization they sometimes offer for the investment of all that time is that playing video games sharpens their cognitive skills—that is, that it helps them become better at solving challenges and problems, or improves their memory, or sharpens their attention. And they can point to a large number of studies that back them up, studies showing that gamers perform better than non-gamers on a number of tests of cognitive abilities, ranging from increased hand-eye coordination to working memory to control of attention (Powers et al., 2013; Granic, Lobel, & Engels, 2014). But this research has its critics, who suggest the benefits of gaming may be overstated. A recent study addressed some of these criticisms, and it found surprising results. Instead of categorizing participants into just two groups, as most studies do (frequent players versus non-players), the new study considered the full range of playing frequency, ranging from non-players, to low-frequency, moderate-frequency, and high-frequency players. When looked at in this way, the previous findings that gamers outperformed non-gamers on cognitive abilities simply vanished. The researchers concluded that previous studies used methods that had the unintended effect of inflating the apparent influence of video game play on cognitive measures

applying psychology "controlling a robotic arm with only the mind"

Perhaps you've seen images of accident victims who have lost parts of their legs but are now able to walk again—sometimes even run, dance, or participate in athletics—thanks to prosthetic (artificial) limbs. But what about people like Erik Sorto, 34, who was paralyzed from the neck down by a bullet when he was 21? Typical prosthetics require functioning muscles in order to move. But new developments in robotics are giving even people such as Sorto some of their functioning back. Researchers have developed functioning robotic prosthetic limbs that move under their own power. But that's nothing new—robotic arms have existed for decades. The breakthrough is in the interface: these arms are controlled by the user's thoughts. When Sorto wants to use his robotic arm to lift a soda bottle to his mouth to take a drink, he doesn't have to control the movement with any movement of his own—he just has to think about it and the arm moves, much like your own arm moves when you wish it (Stoller-Conrad, 2015). Robotic limbs now move with gestures and by thought. Source: © Mark Runnacles/Getty Images What makes this remarkable feat possible is a neural chip that is implanted in the user's brain, where it registers activity in specific neurons. In Sorto's case, two such chips detect activity in clusters of just a few hundred neurons. You might think these chips are implanted at the locations in the motor cortex that control arm and hand movements, and indeed, that has been tried in the past with limited success. But Sorto's implants are different; they are instead located atop the posterior parietal cortex—a region that doesn't control motor neurons directly, but instead is associated with forming an intention to move. Researchers find that this region can actually control the robotic prosthesis much more smoothly and naturally. It's not effortless, however; it takes Sorto thousands of attempts to learn a single gesture, and some gestures are beyond his ability. The technology works, but isn't yet ready for prime time. A widespread rollout will take another decade or more of research. But even today, the bionic man has become more reality than fantasy

gardner's multiple intelligences

Psychologist Howard Gardner has taken an approach very different from traditional thinking about intelligence. Gardner argues that rather than asking "How smart are you?" we should be asking a different question: "How are you smart?" In answering the latter question, Gardner has developed a theory of multiple intelligences that has become quite influential (Gardner, 2000; Kaufman, Kaufman, & Plucker, 2013). Piloting a helicopter requires the use of both fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Which of the two kinds of intelligence do you believe is more important for such a task? Source: © Paul Souders/Corbis Gardner argues that we have a minimum eight different forms of intelligence, each relatively independent of the others: musical, bodily kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. (Figure 1 describes the eight types of intelligence, with some of Gardner's examples of people who excel in each type.) In Gardner's view, each of the multiple intelligences is linked to an independent system in the brain. Furthermore, he suggests that there may be even more types of intelligence, such as existential intelligence, which involves identifying and thinking about the fundamental questions of human existence

rehearsal

The transfer of material from short- to long-term memory proceeds largely on the basis of rehearsal, the repetition of information that has entered short-term memory. Rehearsal accomplishes two things. First, as long as the information is repeated, it is maintained in short-term memory. More important, however, rehearsal allows us to transfer the information into long-term memory

alzheimer's disease/death

These memory problems are symptomatic of Alzheimer's disease, a progressive brain disorder that leads to a gradual and irreversible decline in cognitive abilities. Alzheimer's is the fourth leading cause of death among adults in the United States, affecting an estimated 5 million people. In the beginning, Alzheimer's symptoms appear as simple forgetfulness of things such as appointments and birthdays. As the disease progresses, memory loss becomes more profound, and even the simplest tasks—such as using a telephone—are forgotten. Ultimately, victims may lose their ability to speak or comprehend language, and physical deterioration sets in, leading to death.

becoming an informed consumer - biofeedback

When Tammy DeMichael was involved in a horrific car accident that broke her neck and crushed her spinal cord, experts told her that she was doomed to be a quadriplegic for the rest of her life, unable to move from the neck down. But they were wrong. Not only did she regain the use of her arms, but she was able to walk 60 feet with a cane (Morrow & Wolf, 1991; Hess, Houg, & Tammaro, 2007). The key to DeMichael's astounding recovery: biofeedback. Biofeedback is a procedure in which a person learns to control through conscious thought internal physiological processes such as blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, skin temperature, sweating, and the constriction of particular muscles. Although it traditionally had been thought that the heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and other bodily functions are under the control of parts of the brain over which we have no influence, psychologists have discovered that these responses are actually susceptible to voluntary control (Nagai et al., 2004; Cho, Holyoak, & Cannon, 2007; Badke et al., 2011). In biofeedback, a person is hooked up to electronic devices that provide continuous feedback relating to the physiological response in question. For instance, someone trying to control headaches through biofeedback might have electronic sensors placed on certain muscles on her head and learn to control the constriction and relaxation of those muscles. Later, when she felt a headache starting, she could relax the relevant muscles and abort the pain (Andrasik, 2007; Nestoriuc et al., 2008; Magis & Schoenen, 2011). DeMichael's treatment was related to a form of biofeedback called neurofeedback, in which brain activity is displayed for a patient. Because not all of her nervous system's connections between the brain and her legs were severed, she was able to learn how to send messages to specific muscles, "ordering" them to move. Although it took more than a year, DeMichael was successful in restoring a large degree of her mobility. Although the control of physiological processes through the use of biofeedback is not easy to learn, it has been employed with success in a variety of ailments, including emotional problems (such as anxiety, depression, phobias, tension headaches, insomnia, and hyperactivity), physical illnesses with a psychological component (such as asthma, high blood pressure, ulcers, muscle spasms, and migraine headaches), and physical problems (such as DeMichael's injuries, strokes, cerebral palsy, and curvature of the spine)

hallucinogenics

a drug that is capable of producing hallucinations, or changes in the perceptual process.

alfred binet

he first real intelligence tests were developed by the French psychologist Alfred Binet (1857-1911). His tests followed from a simple premise: If performance on certain tasks or test items improved with chronological, or physical, age, performance could be used to distinguish more intelligent people from less intelligent ones within a particular age group. On the basis of this principle, Binet devised the first formal intelligence test, which was designed to identify the "dullest" students in the Paris school system in order to provide them with remedial aid. Binet began by presenting tasks to same-age students who had been labeled "bright" or "dull" by their teachers. If a task could be completed by the bright students but not by the dull ones, he retained that task as a proper test item; otherwise it was discarded. In the end he came up with a test that distinguished between the bright and dull groups, and—with further work—one that distinguished among children in different age groups (Binet & Simon, 1916; Sternberg & Jarvin, 2003). On the basis of the Binet test, children were assigned a score relating to their mental age, the age for which a given level of performance is average or typical. For example, if the average 8-year-old answered, say, 45 items correctly on a test, anyone who answered 45 items correctly would be assigned a mental age of 8 years. Consequently, whether the person taking the test was 20 years old or 5 years old, he or she would have the same mental age of 8 years (Cornell, 2006).

scientific method process

identifying questions formulating an explanation carrying out research communicating the findings

elizabeth loftus' position/repressed memories

memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus, and many others, maintain that there is little evidence for the phenomenon of repressed memories. They believe that so-called repressed memories may well be inaccurate or even wholly false—representing false memory. For example, false memories develop when people are unable to recall the source of a memory of a particular event about which they have only vague recollections. When the source of the memory becomes unclear or ambiguous, people may become confused about whether they actually experienced the event or whether it was imagined. Ultimately, people come to believe that the event actually occurred (Bernstein & Loftus, 2009a; Choi, Kensinger, & Rajaram, 2013; Lynn et al., 2015). There is great controversy regarding the legitimacy of repressed memories. Many therapists give great weight to authenticity of repressed memories, and their views are supported by research showing that there are specific regions of the brain that help keep unwanted memories out of awareness. On the other side of the issue are researchers who maintain that there is insufficient scientific support for the existence of such memories. There is also a middle ground: memory researchers who suggest that false memories are a result of normal information processing. The challenge for those on all sides of the issue is to distinguish truth from fiction