Scientific Foundations of Psychology

Unit 1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology Psychology The study of Mental (cognitive) processes and observable behaviors of organisms - Combination of philosophy and physiology - Original definition: study of the mind Issues in the Field: Nature vs Nurture: -Is our behavior due to heredity (nature) or environment (nurture)? Conscious vs Unconscious: -How much of our behavior is determined by forces of which we are fully aware? Observable behavior vs Internal mental processes - Should psychology only focus on what it can see? 5 Goals of Psychology - Observe Describe Explain Predict Control Prescientific Psychology Socrates/Plato - The mind is separable from the body and continues after the body dies - Knowledge is innate - born within us - Plato was Socrates’ student Aristotle - Plato’s Student - Loved data - derived principles by logic - Soul is not separable from the body - Thought knowledge came from experience The Enlightenment - Began to change the way people think Rene Descartes - - Mind and body are interactive machines John Locke - Knowledge through observation (mind is a blank slate) Important Founders of Psychology Wilhelm Wundt - Father of experimental Psychology - Founded the first psychology lab - Used the technique of introspection - the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes Edward Titchener: - Student of Wundt - School of Structuralism - An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind - Studies the parts (“the what”) of consciousness William James - 1st Psychology text, Founder of US psychology - The Principles of Psychology - Stream of Consciousness - The mind experiences thought as a flow of ever-changing sensations, emotions, and ideas - Functionalism - How mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish - Studies the purpose (“the why”) of the consciousness John Watson - School of behaviorism - The study of observable behavior - “Little Albert” Experiment - Research focus- Classical Conditioning (learning) B.F. Skinner - People learn because they have been reinforced for doing so - Conditioning Types of Research Basic Research: - Research to discover something that we don’t know Applied Research: - Research to solve a real world problem or question Old Schools of Thought - Structuralism (Basic Research) - An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind - Studies the parts (“the what”) of consciousness - Sensation, perception, images, emotion, thinking - Used introspection as research method - Process of describing thoughts, feelings, and emotions. - Asked subjects to reflect on their current state of consciousness by responding to objects - Founded by Titchener - Functionalism (Applied Research) - Focused on the evolved purposes (functions) of the elements of consciousness - Founded by William James - Gestalt (Basic + Applied Research) - Focused on the study of consciousness (THE WHOLE instead of just structuralism + functionalism by itself) that included the study of perception, sensation, learning, and problem solving - Emphasis on the whole - Psychoanalytic - Theoretical basis for Freud’s psychoanalysis method - Believed behaviors and mental processes are caused by unconscious forces (unresolved childhood conflicts, etc) - Behaviors and mental processes are impacted by the ability of the ego to meet conflicting demands of the id and superego 7 Modern Approaches - Psychodynamic Approach: - Based on a modern interpretation of Freud’s ideas about the influence of the unconscious - Behaviors + mental processes are result of unconscious motivations + conflicts - Behaviors impacted by personality - Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson - Early Behaviorism Approach - Behaviors are learned and maintained through associations - Learned as a result of operant consequences (B.F Skinner) - Learned by watching and imitating others (Bandura) - Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, Edward Thorndike, BF Skinner, Albert Bandura (Social Cognitive) - Humanistic Approach - Influenced by the fact that humans are naturally good and trying to reach full potential through free will - Individuals are striving to meet all their needs on the hierarchy with the end goal of self-actualization (Maslow) - Individuals need acceptance, genuineness, and empathy to become the best versions of themselves (Rogers) - Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers - Cognitive Approach - Influenced by thoughts, attitudes, memories, and expectations - Jean Piaget, Albert Allis, Aaron Beck - Biological Approach - Influenced by differences and changes in the nervous system - Neurotransmitters, hormones, nervous system activity - Gene inherited from one’s parents - Roger Sperry, Michael Gazzaniga, Paul Broca, Carl Wernicke Evolutionary Approach - Influenced by naturally selected for creating a reproductive or survival advantage for a species - Natural Selection - Influenced by Darwin - - Sociocultural Approach - Influenced by ethnicity, religion, gender, language, nationality, and economic status and learned norms associated w these groups - Individualistic vs Collectivist - Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram, Phillip Zimbardo, and Leon Festinger - Biopsychosocial Approach - Best explained by combining multiple approaches - Biological, Psychological, Sociocultural Research Methods - Correlational Studies - Relationship between to 2 events (Positive or negative Correlation) - Preview of significance when the relationship is not due to change - Advantages: It can happen outside of a lab - Disadvantage: cannot prove causality - Correlation coefficient: a statistical measure of how strongly related any two sets of scores are - +1.0 one set of scores increase in direct proportion to increases in the other set -1.0 one set of scores goes up precisely as the other goes down +1/-1 perfect correlation - Survey Research - Advantages: Cheap, Easy, multiple variables can be examined - Disadvantages: - Questions might be biased, poorly written - People might misinterpret the questions - Cannot prove causality - Naturalistic observations - Studying subjects without them being aware that they are being watched - Advantage: - Real behavior - No or reduced Hawthorne effect or Demand characteristic - Hawthorne - People don’t act naturally when being watched - Demand - people act differently to please the experimenter - Disadvantage: - Might not be studying what you think you’re studying average day at school - No control - Cannot prove causality - Case Studies - Deeply study one or a few unusual cases - Ex) Phineas Gage - Advantages: - can dig deep to find possible relationships or other ideas that could turn into hypothesis - Opposite of a survey - Disadvantages: - Time consuming - Subjects are not representative - Cannot prove causality - Longitudinal studies - Way of studying - When researchers follows the same participant or same group (cohort) of participant for a long time - Ex) School children displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Child prodigies - - Advantages: - Uncover possible confounding variable - Can be used in variety of other research methods Disadvantage: - Time consuming - Expensive - Difficult to control - Difficult to prove causality - Cross-Sectional Studies - Way of studying - Compares two groups at one time - Ex) Male vs Female - Advantage: - Comparison is science - Can be used in other research methods - Disadvantage: - Only a snapshot, not a moving picture - Operational Definition - Procedures the researcher uses to measure specific variable - ex) measure intelligence with grades, measure sadness w tears Validity - Refers to a test’s ability to measure what it is supposed to measure - Experiments - Independent Variable - Variable that the researcher does - Experimental group gets the independent variable - Dependent Variable: - The variable that the researcher gets’ - As a result of the independent variable - Types of Error - Type 1 Error: False Alarm, no effect - Type 2 Error: You don’t notice the error in the experiment Confounding Variables - Things that might affect dependent variables, not caused by independent variables - Come from imperfect experimental control - Problem w too much control - people/animals don’t act naturally in labs - More control, less bias - More control, increased Hawthorne Effect - - Causality: - Independent variable caused the dependent variable and the IV only - Placebo - Mind has an effect - Is a confounding variable - Placebo Treatment - Given to half of participants (control group) while the IV is given to the experimental group - Controls bias from previous thoughts Types of Effects - Hawthorne Effect - Subjects behaviors changes because they know they’re being watched - Must deceive the participant about (single blind study) - What group they're in - What the hypothesis is - Experimenter bias (observer Bias): - Experimenter might screw results in order to prove the point that they want to be true - We must use double blind study - Researcher doesn’t know which participant is in which group - Representation Bias - Participants might now be representative of the larger population - Must choose so demographics match - Random Sample - Each person in larger population has same chance to be chosen for the sample - Nearly impossible to do - Representative Sample - Same proportion of demographic characteristics - Ethnicity, education, income - Random Assignment: - Does each participant have an equal chance of being in either the experimental group or control group Ethical Issues in Research - - I.R.B. (institutional review board) - Studies cause anxiety + stress - Is the information worth the pain? - Who is benefiting? Rules for experimenting A.P.A. Principles of Ethics Fiduciary Responsibility - take care of your participants - Informed consent - Esp minors - Debriefing - After the study, researchers must tell everything and even offer counseling - Subjects must have right to decline - Info obtained about subject must be kept confidential Statistics in Research: - Definition: - Data exploration techniques - methods designed to help us make sense of large amounts of data - A tool to turn data into information Types of Statistics - Inferential Statistics - Can knowledge be inferred from a small sample to a large population - Random Sampling doesn’t always lead to a representative sample - Statistical Significance - How much is the dependent variable caused by the independent and not by chance - P-value (chance) is the opposite of statistical significance - Smaller the p-value, the more significant the results - There can never be a p-value of 0 - Nothing can be proven 100% - there are always abnormalities - 95-99% significance is acceptable - Null Hypothesis - Predicts there will NOT be a significant relationship - The goal of research is to DISprove the null hypothesis - Inferential Errors - Anything that allows us or encourages us to link a small group to a larger group where it shouldn’t exist - Heuristics - Cognitive biases - Outgroup homogeneity - Descriptive Statistics - Definition - Used to describe the population or sample that is being used - - - Median and mode are relatively unaffected by the presence of a few extremes One extreme score can throw off the mean - Skewed Data: outlier is disproportionately affecting the mean Graphs - Bar graphs - Nominal- data sorted by category - Histogram - Numerical - data sorted by numbers Dispersion: How far the scores differ from the mean - Low - All scores are close together - High - Scores are spread out Standard Deviation - Similar to dispersion - how measurements for a group are spread out - Also called a Z-SCORE - Assess how far from the mean using standard deviation Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior Genetic Instructions in the Brain - Genes: - Genes are the blueprints for the human body - About 30% of genes are expressed solely in the brain - Most genes are same between people - - - - Small % of genes are different from others - Genetics and behaviors are bidirectional Epigenetics - Study of changes in gene expression due to non genetic causes Methylation: - Process by which gene is turned off due to protein interaction Less depression in a collectivist society - Environment affect genetics - Hormone: - Prenatal hormones - Rat bred for fear Polygenic: - A trait caused by more than one gene - Most traits are polygenic Environmental Effects on Development - How do we study? - Monozygotic Twins raised in DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS - Ethics don’t allow us - We do case studies instead Endocrine System - Definition: - Hormonal messengers that go between glands - Slow - Hypothalamus - Brain region that controls the pituitary gland - Pituitary gland secretes many hormones - Ghrelin - Hormone released by the stomach - Makes you hungry - Adrenal Glands - Releases epinephrine - Fight or flight response - Pancreas - Regulates the level of sugar in blood - Produce insulin (lower blood sugar) and glucagon (increase bs) Nervous System - Central Nervous System Brain Spinal Cord - Peripheral Nervous System: - Somatic Nervous System - - - Movement of voluntary muscles - arms , legs Autonomic Nervous System - Involuntary Movement - Bowel movements - Sympathetic Nervous system - “Fight or Flight - Parasympathetic “Rest and Digest” Neuron - - - - Dendrite - Receives messages from other cells Cell Body - The cell’s life center Axon - Passes messages away from the cell body to the other neurons - Neural Impulse - Action potential: electrical signal traveling down the oxon Myelin Sheath - Protects the axon - Helps speed neural impulses Axon Terminal - Communicates w other neurons Action Potential - Depolarization of Axon - - - Refractory period: - Period where impulse cannot occur - Repolarization Post Synaptic Potential (PSP) - Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential - A voltage change due to a neurotransmitter that increases the chances that neuron will fire an action potential - Inhibitory PostSynaptic Potential - Changes due to a neurotransmitter that decreases the chance that a neuron will fire an action potential Neurotransmitters - Excitatory Neurotransmitter: - Neurochemicals that increase the chance that a neuron will fire an A.P. - Inhibitory Neurotransmitters: - Neurochemicals that decrease the chance that a neuron will fire an A.P. - Glutamate: Learning and Memory - Primary excitatory neurotransmitter - Most abundant neurotransmitter - Oversupply linked to brain diseases - GABA: Anxiety reduction, relaxation - Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter - Undersupply is associated with anxiety, disorders, seizures and insomnia - Endorphins - Inhibit Pain - Released in response to pain or vigorous exercise - Opiates which are drugs from the opium plant serve as pain relievers are endorphin agonists - Dopamine - Pleasure, reward, voluntary movement, posture, learning, cognition, attention Oversupply - Schizophrenia - Undersupply - Parkinson’s Disease Serotonin: - Mood, appetite, sleep, impulse control - Undersupply: - depression , sleep-wake disorders, food cravings, aggression Norepinephrine - Arousal and attention - Can be BOTH neurotransmitter AND hormone (noradrenaline) - Sympathetic Nervous System - Activating flight or flight response and other excitatory actions Acetylcholine: - Muscle contraction, heart rate, memory, learning - Neurotoxins and Ach - Undersupply - Alzheimer’s disease - - - - - Blood Brain Barrier - Definition: - A semipermeable network of tightly packed cells in the lining of the capillaries of the central nervous system - Prevents harmful substances from reaching the brain or spinal cord - Also means some helpful meds cannot enter the brain via blood Influence of Drugs on Neural Firing - Neurotransmitter = key Receptor Site = Lock Agonist Drug - Counterfeit Key - Mimicking neurotransmitter action - OR blocking/delaying Reuptake - Reuptake is the absorption of excess neurotransmitters - Antagonist Drug - Broken Key stuck in the lock, Blocking the Lock - Drugs acts as fake key binding to receptor causing action potential to not fire - Prevents intended neurotransmitter from binding Tools for Examining the Brain - Autopsy - Broca’s - Discovered Area responsible for producing speech - “Nice speech BRO” - Frontal lobe, left side - Wernicke’s - Area that prevents comprehension of language - Temporal lobe, left side - Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy - Degenerative brain disease that results from repeated head injuries - Cognitive, mood, and behavioral problems - Lead to dementia Computer Axial Tomography (CT Scan aka CAT Scan) - Involve series of x-ray images from different angles to create 3D picture - Locate tumors and damage from blood clots or strokes - Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - Use magnetic fields and radio waves to create image of brain - More detailed than CT scans - Brain shrinkage - Electroencephalogram (EEG) - Noninvasive imaging - Using amplified recording of electrical activity on brain’s surface - Use electrodes on scalp - Diagnosis of epilepsy and sleep disorders - Sleep, dream, cognitive research through the use of evoked potentials - Electrical Stimulation - Involve activating a part of the brain by sending weak electrical current via an electrode to examine behavior or cognition - Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) - Uses magnetic pulses to temporarily enhance or depress activity in parts of brain - Temporary blocking of impulses creates virtual lesion - allows for study of lesioning without tissue destruction - Non invasive - Function Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) - Magnetic field to produce image of brain structure and track blood flow - - Tracks real time brain activity by measuring oxygen changes in blood flow (metabolic processes) Positron Emission tomography (PET) - Map brain activity - monitoring harmless amount of radioactively tagged glucose - Indicates areas of the brain that active during cognitive tasks The BRAIN - - Hindbrain - Cerebellum - “Little Brain” - Coordination, Balance, Procedural memories - Medulla - Heart rate, breathing, blood pressure - Reflexes - Pons - Sleep, facial expression - Bridge connecting cerebellum to brain stem - Reticular Formation - located in the central core of the brain stem. It passes through the medulla, pons, and stops in the midbrain. Its functions can be classified into 4 categories: motor control, sensory control, visceral control, and control of consciousness. Forebrain - Thalamus - Sensory relay - Sends signals to the correct areas - Everything except for smell (olfaction) goes through thalamus - Limbic System - Donut shaped structure - Hippocampus - Learning and memories - “Hippocampus like a college campus” Amygdala - Strong emotions - Fear and anger Hypothalamus - Regulate body’s homeostasis - Pituitary Gland - Endocrine gland located below the cortex and below the hypothalamus - Growth hormones - Triggers other Hormones Controlled by Hypothalamus - Midbrain - Cerebrum - The largest area of the brain including surface and subcortical regions in two hemispheres - Language, complex thought, consciousness, and sensory and motor processing - Cerebral Cortex - Wrinkled outer layer of the brain covering both hemispheres - Includes motor cortex, sensory cortex, auditory cortex, visual cortex, olfactory and gustatory areas FMSPOT - Wrinkly outer layer - Frontal Lobe (Prefrontal Cortex) - Motor movement - Higher thought - complex cognitive behavior - personality expression - decision making - moderating social behaviour. - Motor Cortex - Right hemisphere control left side of body and vice versa - Parietal Lobe - Processing sensory information - Somatosensory - How things feel to the touch - Occipital Lobe - Visual processing - Temporal Lobe - Processing auditory information - Wernicke’s Area - Association Areas - Regions on the Cerebral Cortex NOT responsible for sensory/motor functions - Higher level thinking/reasoning (Broca’s/Wernicke’s) - Corpus Callosum: - Group of nerve fibers that relay information between two halves of the brain - Brain lateralization - Right Hemisphere - - Controls the left side of the body Areas specializing in recognizing faces and emotional responses Left Hemisphere: - Left motor cortex control right movement of body - Control perception of tough on the right side - Control most language-related functions (Broca’s/Wernickes) Split Brain Surgery - Procedure in which corpus callosum is cut to treat severe epileptic seizures - No effects on personality or intellect - Seizures mostly eliminated - Language in the left hemisphere - Contralateral motor control The Adaptable Brain - Neuroplasticity - The brain’s ability to modify itself in response to - Experience - Repair itself after damage - Strengthening through learning - OR non damaged areas take over the function of damaged cells - Strongest in children Theories of Consciousness - James - Stream of Consciousness - consciousness/awareness as an ever-changing flow of ideas - Freud - - - Conscious mind - What we are thinking at the moment Preconscious - Contains all of thoughts/memories that we’re aware of but not thinking about at the moment Unconscious - Subliminal processing that occurs outside of awareness - Deep thoughts and wishes Modern State of Consciousness - Consciousness - State of awareness about one’s internal thoughts and environment - Altered states of consciousness - Temporary state of awareness that's different from normal - sleep , meditation, drug use, daydreaming Unconscious - Subliminal processing that occurs outside of awareness Major Psychoactive Drugs - Depressants - Drugs that decreases the central nervous system activity - Causes drowsiness, muscle relaxation, poor coordination, slurred speed, reduced heart rate, reduced breathing - Alcohols, opioids, morphine, codeine, oxycodone, heroine, sedative, hypnotics - Dangerous - May stop breathing - Stimulants - Drugs that increases the central nervous system activity - Causes alertness, euphoria, increased physical/cognitive energy, reduced appetite, irritability, increased heart rate, paranoia, sleeplessness, increased body temp, convulsions, death - Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy) - Hallucinogens - Drugs that cause result in distorted sensations and perceptions - Causes hallucinations, mild delusions, mild euphoria, relaxation, panic, psychosis, reduced motivation - WEED, LSD, mescaline - Agonists - Drugs mimic neurotransmitter by binding w receptor sites or blocking reuptake - Drugs of abuse are generally agonists - Cocaine - Dopamine agonist (blocks reuptake) - Usually sending neuron reabsorbs excess - Cocaine will block receptor sites - Will repeatedly fire the cell - Also blocks norepinephrine and serotonin - Heroin - Endorphin and dopamine agonist - Alcohol - GABA agonist - Stimulant - Norepinephrine and serotonin agonist - - Hallucinogens - Serotonin agonist Antagonists - Drugs block neurotransmission by occupying receptor sites and blocking transmission - Naloxone (narcan) - Endorphin antagonist - Used to treat opiate/narcotic overdose - Antipsychotic medication - Dopamine antagonist - Used to treat schizophrenia by blocking dopamine transmission Sleeping and Dreaming - Circadian Rhythm - A 24-25 hour biological clock related to the sleep and wake cycle - involving changes in hormones, blood pressure, and internal temp - Biological Rhythms - Sleep cycle - 90 min repeating pattern of NREM and REM stages that occurs during sleep - Each stage has distinct wave activity - - NREM - Non rapid eye movement where dreams are less common - Stage 1,2, and 3 - REM - Sleep stage characterized by rapid eye movement Dreams occur EEG activity show brain wave that is like an awake state EEG and sleeping Brain Activity - Beta - Awake and alert - Alpha - Awake and relaxed - Theta - Slow regular waves of light sleep - Delta - Deep stage 3 sleep - “Beta-like” - REM Sleep - - - Stages of sleep - Stage 1 NREM - Hypnagogic sensations - Theta - Stage 2 NREM - Sleep spindles - K Complexes - Theta - Stage 3 NREM - Most dreams - Sleep terrors - Sleep walking - Sleep talking - REM - Delta Sleep Functions - Protection - Safety and energy conservation - Recovery - Repair cells, strengthen immune system - Memory consolidation - Key role in learning - Especially REM - Growth - Pituitary releases growth hormone during deep sleep Sleep Wake Disorders - Insomnia - Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep - Narcolepsy - Sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness - Sleep apnea - Stopping breathing repeatedly while sleeping - Sleep walking/talking - Doing normal waking activities while asleep - Talking while sleeping - SLEEPWALKING OCCURS IN NREM-3 SLEEP - Night Terrors - Appearing terrified, talking nonsense, sitting up, or walking around during NREM-3 Sleep Unit 3: Sensation and Perception Principles of Organizing and integrating sensation - - - - Sensation - Gathering raw data Perception - Processing data into information - Binding Problem - How does sound and light get merged into our mind? - Transduction - Processing of turning environmental energy to neural energy to perception to thought - Law Pragnanz - Mind prefers and automatically perceive things in the simplest way Bottom up Processing - Noticing the individual aspects and assembling them into a coherent whole - Notes or trees Top-Down Processing - Seeing the whole picture then noticing individual aspects of that perception - Song or forest Gestalt - Ways that our brain/mind automatically, unconsciously organizes incoming afferent sensory information - The meaning of a word is more than all of the letters - Gestalt Principles - Ways that our brain automatically unconsciously organize incoming, afferent sensory information - Proximity - Group things that are close together - Similarity - Group things that look the same - Continuity - Mind creates continuous pattern and perceive connected objects as uninterrupted - Closure - Mind makes things whole when they are incomplete - Common Fate - Perceive visual elements that move in the same speed and/or direction as parts of a single stimulus - Phi Phenomenon - Illusion of movement when stationary lights are placed side by side and light - - - - - up one after another Stroboscopic Effect. - an appearance of motion (or lack of motion) occurs when the stimulus is not viewed continuously but in distinct separate stages. Attention - Without perception, attention is not possible Schemas - a cognitive framework that helps organize and interpret information in the world around us. Figure Ground - Can only perceive where your attention is - the rest as background Depth Perception - Mon(ocular) - External or 1 sense organ - Doppler Effect - Closer you are the higher the pitch - Relative size - Height in visual field - Interposition - when one object obscures another, which causes the object that is partially covered to appear more distant - Linear perspective - parallel lines appear to converge at some point in the distance. - Atmospheric cues - Further away things are blurrier - Light shadow - Texture gradient - Further away look smoother - Motion parallax - Closer things move quickly, far away move slowly - Bi(nocular) - Internal (2 sense organs) - Auditory disparity - Retinal Disparity - Two eyes compare the images - Bigger the difference between two images, the closer the object is - Muscular Convergence - Brain senses the muscle movement of your eyes Absolute Threshold - The lowest level of stimulus that we can reliably notice - 50% of the time - TYPE 1 error (false alarm) - Gustav Fechner - Difference Threshold - Minimum stimulus in which you notice a change - Ernst Weber noticed a constant called k - Weber’s Law (Weber/Fechner Law) - Signal Detection Theory - Psychological reasons to detect - Motivation to notice - Ability to notice - Sensory Adaptation - You only pay attention to one thing at a time (figure ground) Vision - Vision Elements - Cornea - Protection - Iris - Eye color - Pupil - Light hole - Lens - Bends the shape of light - Upside down - Everything is portrayed in the back of your eye upside - Brain interprets as right side up - Fovea - CCC - Center, cones, colors - Fine detail - Center of movie screen+ - Retina - “Movie Screen” - Rods - Dark and Light - Throughout whole retina - Dim light and motion - Cones - Color - Blind Spot - Where the optic nerve connects to brain’s visual cortex - No rods and cones - Brain fills in gaps Vision Process - Different receptors respond to different stimuli - Photoreceptors > Bipolar cells > Ganglion Cells Optic Nerve > Optic Chiasm > Thalamus > Visual Cortex Theories of Color - Trichromatic Theory - There are three types of cells that respond to different wavelengths of radiation - Short wavelengths = blue - Medium = green - Long = red - Opponent Process theory - Certain neural circuits cannot process opposite colors - Explains afterimage - Vision and hearing Impairments - Mechanical - Deafness - Myopia - Pinpoint image is short of the fovea - Nearsighted - Hyperopia - Eye is too short - Cannot see far - Neurological - Something wrong with the brain/processing - Prosopagnosia - Synesthesia - Perceiving a stimulus in more than one way - Hearing color, tasting sounds - Neurological - Not a problem Perception - Perceptual Set (context effect) - A way of perceiving the world based on context, experiences, motivation, and emotions - - - Related to Top Down Processing Phantom Pain - Your brain thinks you are in pain even though you no longer have that limb - Perception without sensation Placebo pain - Your body experiences injury but your brain doesn't process it - Sensation without perception Hallucinations - Perceptions without sensation - Priming - Experience is affected by expectation/memory - Perceptual Constancies - Size - Something coming toward you vs balloon being blown up in front of you - Sense 2 dimensions, perceive 3 dimensions - Color - See green grass in the dark? - See things as the same color even though the light changes - Shape - Move rectangular paper - See things as the same shape even at different angles - Brightness Inattentional blindness - Not seeing something even though you are looking right at it - - Subliminal perception - What if information can be snuck into the brain while the conscious mind is not aware - Cannot make people do, think, or feel complex things - Mere exposure effect - The more you see something, the more you will probably remember it and like it Hearing - Hearing Process - Vibration happens in waves - How often - Frequency (Hz) - pitch - How much - - - - - Amplitude (dB) - Intensity (loudness) How they move - Purity - Timbre (how they sound) Anatomical Structure of the Ear - Pinna - Outer ear flap - Tympanic Membrane - Ear drum - Hammer - Anvil - Stirrup - Bones that vibrate the sound to the cochlea - Cochlea - Transfer pressure waves into nerve impulses - Basilar membrane - Tells the brain what kind of thing you're hearing - Hair cells - Sends signals to neurons Vestibular System - Awareness of where your head is in relation to ground - Semicircular Canal - fluid-filled tubes in your inner ear that help you keep your balance - Motion sickness when vestibular system signals clash with eyes Proprioception - Awareness of where parts of your body are Kinesthesia - Awareness of what parts are doing how fast they are moving in which direction - Athletic ability is not in the muscles. It is in the brain Touch - Sensory neurons in skin Type of receptors tells brain of different signal Location of receptor tells what’s happening Tactile Touch - Very subjective - Tickle - Is almost completely subjective - Hot - Upper limit - Cold - Lower limit - Gate Control Theory - Pain signal (afferent) for PNS to CNS can be blocked from entering the CNS at the spinal cord - Small Fiber - Pain signals to spinal cord - Large Fiber - Pressure, cold, heat - Afferent Nerves - sensory neurons that carry nerve impulses from sensory stimuli towards the central nervous system and brain - Efferent Nerves - motor neurons that carry neural impulses away from the central nervous system and towards muscles to cause movement. - Nocireceptors - Pain neurons Taste - SWEET SALTY SOUR Bitter Umami Smell - - We detect a molecule of smell in a million distractors - Smell BYPASSES the thalamus - Molecules excite certain receptors - Strongly connected to emotions Pheromones - Subtle unconscious odors from our bodies Unit 4: Learning Social and Cognitive Factors in Learning - - Phrenology - Franz Gall - Is connection between the physical and mental? Learning is empirical - It can be measured and defined - It’s universal - Learning happens when a relatively permanent change in behavior or reaction is - brought about by different circumstances Learning can be observed - Ivan Pavlov - Classical conditioning (reflexive conditioning) - Reflexes we are born with them - John Garcia - Taste Aversion - If animal eat something poisonous, we throw up - Cause us to not eat a certain food anymore - Robert Rescorla - Expectancy - Hypnotic induction triggers the parasympathetic response - Edward Thorndike - Law of Effect - Consequences of previous actions will influence future actions - First to make it a science - B.F. SKinner - Known for the quality of his research - “Skinner boxes” allowed for experimental control - Operant conditioning chamber - Prevents confounding variables Rewards = quick learning Punishment = slow learning - Wolfgang Hohler - Insight learning - “Aha” Moment - Albert Bandura - Social Learning (Observational learning) - We learn from watching others - Bobo Doll Experiment - Watched adults hit the doll and showed same behavior - Mirror Neurons - Motor Cortex of frontal lobe - Another type II - Source Amnesia - We don’t know why something doesn’t please us - Phobias - Classical conditioning - Social learning - Learned Helplessness - Martin Seligman (1967) - Exposed dogs to shocks that they could not escape - Is giving up a learned behavior? - Biological Preparedness - Easy to condition someone with biological backing - Easy to nauseate with smell than sight - Indistinctive drift - Animals will revert back to their instinctive behaviors if not trained continuously - ex) if don’t give coyote bad sheep meat, they will eventually start eating sheep again - Biofeedback - Intersections of mind/body - Feedback loop between one or several biological markers and mental process - Counter Conditioning - We can unlearn behavior Classical Conditioning - Conditioning - Learning - Relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience - Cognition - Thinking - Habituation - learning - Learning that involves a decrease in responsiveness to stimuli after exposure - Sensory Adaptation - perception - A reduction of the response of the sensory receptors due to continual exposure - Classical Conditioning - A learned association in which a neutral stimulus when paired with an - unconditioned stimulus creates an unlearned involuntary response Unconditioned response becomes conditioned response - Reflex or emotion Neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus - Reaction to unconditioned stimulus Most effective if the Neutral stimulus is presented before the US or closer in time Higher Order Learning (conditioning) (second) - Process of turning a second neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus even though never paired with unconditioned stimulus Classical and Operant Conditioning Phenomena - - Classical - Linking different stimuli - Acquisition period - Learning through pairings of NS and US to create CR - Extinction - Weakening of the CR bc the CS is no longer paired with the US - Spontaneous Recovery - The return of an extinguished CR without being paired w the US - Stimulus Generalization - Organisms learn to involuntarily respond to stimuli like the CS - Stimulus Discrimination - Organisms learn to involuntarily respond only to the CS Operant - Linking behavior to a consequence - Acquisition period - Learning through repeated pairing of voluntary actions w consequence - Extinction - The weakening of a learned voluntary response when a consequence is no longer provided - Spontaneous Recovery - The return of an extinguished voluntary behavior without a consequence - Stimulus Generalization - Organisms learn to voluntarily respond to stimuli that are similar - Stimulus Discrimination - Learn to respond only to original stimulus Operant Conditioning - The process in which voluntary responses are learned as a result of consequences Edward Thorndike - Instrumental learning - - - Law of effect Used cats B.F. Skinner - Operant Chamber “Skinner Box” Reinforcers - Primary Reinforcer - - Secondary Reinforcer - - A stimulus that is naturally or innately rewarding - Food, air, warmth, water - OR the REMOVAL of unpleasant things Stimulus that has learned value - Money, tokens, attention, praise, status - Remove of exclusion or ridicule - Positive Reinforcement - Adding or presenting a stimulus after a voluntary behavior that makes the behavior more likely to occur - Negative reinforcement - Subtracting or removing a stimulus after a voluntary action that makes the behavior more likely to occur again - Positive Punishment - Adding or presenting a stimulus after a voluntary behavior that makes the behavior less likely to occur again - Negative punishment - Subtracting or removing a stimulus after a voluntary behavior that makes the behavior less likely to occur again Types of Conditioning - Escape Conditioning - Voluntary behavior that causes an aversive stimulus to stop, which causes individual to repeat that behavior in the future - Avoidance Conditioning - A voluntary behavior prevents an aversive stimulus from happening, which causes the individual to repeat that behavior in the future - - - - Discriminative Stimulus - A stimulus that indicates if a voluntary behavior is demonstrated a reinforcement will or will not result - Shaping - Creating a new voluntary response by providing reinforcements for successively closer approximations of the desired new action - Step by step reinforcement Schedules of Reinforcement - Continuous Reinforcement - Rewards follow every correct response - Learning is rapid - Learning has rapid extinction if reinforcements stop - Intermittent (Partial Reinforcement - Rewards follow some correct responses - Learning is slow - Learning is more resistant to extinction Types of Intermittent - Fixed Ratio: - Reinforcement is given after a predictable fixed number of correct behaviors - Variable Ratio: - Reinforcement is given after an unpredictable number of correct behaviors - Fixed Interval: - Reinforcement is given for the first correct response after a predictable (fixed) amount of time (interval) of minutes, days, etc. has passed - Variable Interval: - Reinforcement is given for the first correct response after an unpredictable (variable) amount of time (interval) of minutes, days, etc. has passed Premack’s Principle - Using a behavior, which is preferred by an individual to increase the likelihood that another behavior that is NOT preferred will occur Unit 5: Cognitive Psychology - Encoding - Putting info into memory Storing - Retaining info in memory Retrieving - Taking info out of memory Encoding and Storing - - - - Effortful Processing - Explicit memories - Conscious processing - Requiring rehearsal and is improved with attention and motivation Automatic Processing - Implicit memories - Unconscious processing Selective Attention - Requires less automatic processing - Processing of one and blocking another Divided Attention - Requires more automatic processing - Concurrent processing - Metacognition - Thinking about one’s own (meta) thinking - Test reflections - Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon - Encoding - Visual encoding - Shallow processing - Acoustic encoding - Intermediate - hearing - Semantic encoding - Can remember where the answer to the test is in the textbook, but don’t know exactly what the answer is - Deep Encoding - Giving meaning - Rehearsal - Maintenance Rehearsal - Intermediate processing - Repetition without meaning - Elaborative Rehearsal - Deep processing - Attaching numerous associations and making applications - Relating to prior knowledge - Self-reference effect - Visual imagery - Encoding failure - Insufficient attention - Ineffective encoding - Shallow processing task shifting - Storage - Sensory Memory - Iconic Memory - Visual Store - Images can be recalled within less than a second - Echoic Memory - Auditory sensory store - Sounds can be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds - Short-Term Memory - Capacity - limited (abt 7) - Durability - 3-12 sec - + or - 2 - Chunking Long-Term Memory - Unlimited capacity - Long term storage - Implicit - Procedural - USE CHOPSTICKS - Priming - Conditioned responses - Explicit - Semantic - Episodic - Semantic - Refers to meaning - - Be careful to differentiate between semantic encoding and semantic long term memory - Retrospective Memory - Working memory - Retrieving past events - Retrieving known facts, ideas, and concepts Prospective Memory - Monitoring - Remembering to do things in the future - - Schema - Schema consistent information is recalled better - Organized category of thought Retrieving - Taking info out of memory - Recall - Open ended Recognition - Multiple choice Mnemonics - Memories things using words - Ex: SAME = Sensory Afferent Motor Efferent Method of Loci - Memory Palace - Memorize by location Retrieval cues - Serial Position Effect - Primacy/recency effect - We remember the first and last items on the list the best - Von Restorff effect - Distinctiveness effect - We remember unique things - Priming - Context dependent - Information is best recalled when you are in the same environment yo learned it - State-dependent memory - Information is best recall when you are in the same physiological state - Mood dependent memory - Infor best recalled when you are in the same mood - - - Forgetting and Memory Distortion - - - - - - Hermann Ebbinghaus - Forgetting Curve - Rehearsal - Maintenance and elaborative - Time Spent - More time spent learning was correlated with less time spent relearning - Overlearning - Rehearsing after you master it - Distrubuted practice - Space learning - Is more effective than massed practice (cramming) Interference (PORN) - Proactive Interference - Old info block new - Retroactive - New blocks old Decay - Loss of memory over time Amnesia - Caused by brain injury or illness - Retrograde Amnesia - Can’t remember old memories - Anterograde Amnesia - Can’t remember new memories Motivated Forgetting - The conscious or unconscious act of eliminating the awareness of painful or unacceptable thoughts Source Monitoring - Determining the origins of our memories - Source monitoring error - Source Amnesia Reality Monitoring - Determining if memories based on actual events (external) or our thoughts (internal - Reality monitoring error Heuristics and Algorithm - Algorithms - - - - - Step by Step - Using a mathematical formula etc. Recipe Scientific Method Process Oriented Formal reasoning - Slow thinking Elaboration likelihood - How likely is a person to think deeply about a problem Bottom up thinking - Scientific method Syllogism - A=B and B=C then A=C Heuristic - Short cut - Common sense - Open a new phone and know how to use it already - “Just kinda know” - Result Oriented - Informal Reasoning - Fast thinking - Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky - Faster, efficient, than true logical thinking - Can lead to errors Schema mental set - Way of thinking or POV - How we structure information Script - Prediction - What should occur in a situation Mental Models - How things work - Is a brick turdy or fragile? Characteristics of Creative Thinking - Need to be knowledgeable Need to have skills - Practice being creative Intrinsic Motivation - You want something for your own reason - Overjustification Effect - - - The enjoyment of intrinsic motivation is taken away when you are given something in return Safe and supportive environment Can’t be afraid of failure - Null hypothesis Cross pollination or avoid confirmation bias Divergent thinking - Thinking of multiple solutions Lateral Thinking - Using a different process to think differently - Thinking outside of the box Convergent thinking - Choosing the most efficient solution from a list of many solution Occam’s Razor - Whatever is the simplest solution is the one that should be used - Get rid of everything that doesn’t work and you’ll be left with what does work Factors that creates Bias and Errors in Thinking - - Stress - Yerkes Dodson Theory - Inverted U - Diminishing results curve Ruminative Thinking - To get stuck in a negative pattern Catastrophizing - Thinking of the worst possible outcome Mental Set - Schema Functional Fixedness - Thinking something only has one purpose - Overcoming FF = Life Hacks Cognitive Biases - - Anchoring bias - The tendency to jump to conclusions by thinking of an improbably, but scary, solution rather than the reasonable outcome. Availability bias - Tendency to rely on readily available information and find a solution that is easy Confirmation Bias - The tendency to look for information that confirms and existing belief Hindsight Bias - - - - - - The tendency to see past events as predictable, called the “I knew it all along” Overconfidence bias - The tendency for a person to place too much faith in his or her own opinion even if there is no reasonable explanation Self Serving Bias - The tendency to make decisions based on what allows people to feel good about themselves Belief Perseverance - Emotion based reasoning - Consistently and loyalty are virtues Framing - How we frame the problem affect how we approach it Sunk cost Fallacy - Erroneous idea to keep going or previous efforts will be wasted Linguistic Determinism - Word, grammar, and syntax determine what type of thoughts you have Linguistic relativism - Words, grammar, syntax influence what type of thoughts you have - Language Acquisition Device (LAD) - Noam Chomsky - People will find a way to communicate - Universal Listening - Babies don’t hear accents - The more they are exposed to certain sounds and not others, the more their brain develops a certain way - Long term potentiation - Brain plasticity - Hubel and Weisel Mechanical Ability to produce sounds - Cooing - Babbling - Intelligence - - Culture’s Effects on Intelligence - Useful or Theoretical? - Individualistic or Collectivist? - Homogeneity - Thinking a group of people are all the same Factory analysis - Complex statistical technique that finds relationship between items - Culturally dependent (G) Theories of Intelligence - Louis Thurstone - 56 types of intelligence - At what point does a number become too big? - Howard Gardner - Musical - Spatial - Verbal - Logical-mathematical - Kinesthetic - Interpersonal - Intrapersonal - Naturalistic - Daniel Goleman - Emotional Intelligence - Delay gratification - Self-Soothe - Know your own emotions - Know other’s emotions - Robert Sternberg - Triarchic Theory - Analytic - Creative - Practical - Charles Spearman - General intelligence - Specific intelligence G = general mental ability - Charles spearman’s idea. - Where there is above average ability in X, there is probably above average ability in y - - Raymond Cattel - Gf - Fluid Intelligence - ability to use logic and solve problems in new or novel situations without reference to pre-existing knowledge. - Gc - Crystalized Intelligence: the ability to use knowledge that was previously acquired through - education and experience experience, using heuristics Use it or lose it Longitudinal study Myth of ageism - Binet Simon Test - Compare child against what other children his age can do - Mental Age/ Chronological age x 100 = IQ - Ratio Based - Stanford-Binet Test - Compare a child against a large bank of acquired scores - Deviation based - Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - 15 subtests - Give general scores - Standardization - Against what are you comparing a score? - Grades from different teachers and schools = standardized test - Comparison gives us a bell curve Reliability - Are scores consistent over time? - Split in Half Technique - Test’s difficulty is even - Flynn Effect - Each generation seems to score higher on scores even when the tests are adjusted Validity - Does the test measure what it says it measures? - Content Validity - When the test has relevant and pertinent elements that are representative of the construct Construct Validity - The degree to which the test accurately measures what it was designed to measure Criterion Validity - How well the test correlates with the outcome - - - Face Validity - Construction of the test is consistent in meaning and interpretation Predictive Validity - Measures how well a test predicts future performance - SAT - 100 = Average IQ on Wechsler Standard Deviation = 15 34% will fall between the mean and the first standard deviation - Intellectual disability - Not one thing, multidimensional, many possible causes - Genetic, chromosomal, chemical, neglect Prodigy - A child who has an amazing ability Savant - Having a genius like ability in a narrow area Genius - Scoring two standard deviations above the mean - - - - Psychometric Testsoften use the test-taker’s knowledge - can be culturally biased or different than those who made the test Stereotype threat - Members of groups who are thought to be _______ will conform to that expectation when tested about _________ - To reduce stereotype threat, what about deception in testing? - Framing Self-fulfilling prophecy - People will conform to what they are told Unit 6: Physical Social, and Cognitive Development in Childhood Process of Conception and Gestation - Conception - Getting preggo Germinal Stage - ends when Zygote attaches to uterus Embryo - 2nd week to 2nd month of pregnancy - cells differentiate Fetus - After 9 weeks - Looks human - Myelination - Brain Activity - Can respond to outside stimulation Factors that influence prenatal development - Prenatal Chemical Environment - Nutrition - Placenta - Filter - Stress hormones - - Cortisol - Teratogens - Prenatal poisons - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Heavy maternal drinking, cognitive impairment, social impairments Babies are Not Tabula Rasa - Not a blank slate - We have instincts - Gestalt Cues - Reflexes - Predispositions - SUCKING - Facial Mimicry - Standing Maturationism - Biological blueprint that says in what order development will happen - Environment plays a role in when - Visions - Newborns fovea not fully developed Hearing - Babies are able to discriminate between frequencies Smell - Babies can smell own mothers Taste - Babies prefer sweet tastes - Supports idea that we are hardwired for certain things Touch - Babies prefer and need cuddling - Skin to skin contact - - Maturation of Motor Skills - - - Motor Strip - Frontal lobe conscious movements - Contralateral movements Cerebellum - procedural , implicit memories - Well practice behaviors Cephalocaudal - From head downward Proximal Distal - From torso outward Tummy time - Baby exercise - Nurture Temperament and other Factors - Pattern of baby’s behaviors and interaction with others - Easy - Difficult - Slow to warm up - Strange Situation - Mary Ainsworth - Attachment Styles - Secure - Anxious Avoidant - Anxious Resistant - Disorganized - Visual Cliff - Determine when infants can perceive depth - Used to examine babies’ relationship with mom - Still Face Experiment - Mom doesn’t respond to baby’s efforts at communication - Baby’s usually get upset - Even as babies we are very social Harry Harlow - Monkeys need comfort over food - Konrad Lorenz - Imprinting - Diana Baumrind - Parenting Styles - Authoritarian Parents - Strict, no input - Child is unsociable and withdrawn - Permissive - Too laid back, no discipline - The child is dependent moody and lacks self control - Negligent - Don't pay attention to kid - Authoritative - Stern but loving - “V” kids have a vote - Child has good social skills, independent - Reciprocal Determinism - Cognitive environmental and behavioral all affect each other Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development - Stage 1 - Infancy to (birth - 2 years) - Sensorimotor Stage - Construct understanding of the world through physical actions - 8 - 12 months start to grasp object permanence - Stage 2 - Early Childhood (2 - 7 years) - Preoperational Stage - Egocentrism - Can’t understand people have different minds than themselves - At 5-6 they understand conservation - Things are the different even though it is the same - - - Stage 3 - Middle Childhood (7 - 11 years) - Concrete Operations - Children begin to think logically Stage 4 - Adolescence (12-adulthood) - Formal Operations - Can think abstractly - Ability to formulate a hypothesis and systematically test it to arrive at a conclusion Lev Vygotsky - Focused on child’s interaction with his environment - Math class - Children are rarely alone and don’t learn or explore alone - Scaffolding - Help the child learn step by step - Zone of Proximal development - Ability to do a task or learn with help - Adolescence - Physical puberty, earlier than other generations, healthcare? - Intellectual - Piaget’s Formal Reasoning Stage - Emotional frontal lobe’s ability to control limbic system - Social - not just a part of adolescence - Critical - Financial - Adolescence longer with each generation - G. Stanley Hall - “Adolescence = Time of storm and stress” - Hollywood’s portrayal - Family Conflicts - Good and necessary, how else will a child learn thow to deal? - Schema’s change - Assimilation - Learning something new, can fit into their mind - Accomodation - Learning something substantial, must change and reshape mind Physical Changes - Puberty - - - - - - Physical representation of adolescence - Girls start earlier than boys Menarche - First menstrual period for girls Spermarche - First ejaculation for guys Primary sexual characteristics - Traits related to reproduction - Enlargement of sex organs Secondary sex characteristics - Traits which have no effect on physical reproduction Social Aspects - Adolescents become less dependent on parents and more on peers - Personal Fable - Adolescents believe themselves to be unique and invincible - Imaginary Audience (spotlight effect) - A thought in which they believe that everyone is looking at them because they are the center of the world - Sensations Seeking - Limbic System says go (gas pedal) - Prefrontal Cortex says stop (brakes & steering) - Coordination of dopaminergic circuits Self centeredness vs Egocentrism - Self centeredness - Emotions of your own overwhelm your ability think of others - Egocentrism - Children’s actual inability to know that people have thoughts other than theirs Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development - - Series of unconscious conflict that we must resolve in order to progress through our lifespan (fixated) Stage 1 (birth - 1 ½ years) Basic Trust vs Mistrust - Trusts: infants who have their needs met - Develop secure attachments - Mistrusts: absence of attentive primary caregivers - Can result in insecure attachment Stage 2 ( 1.5 to 3) Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt - The toddler learning their bodies - Autonomy - Learns to explore, experiment, make mistakes - Needs to explore safe limits and do tasks by himself - - - Shame and Doubt - If they are punished, criticized, overly controlled - They will be unwilling to try or inhibited from trying new activities - Overly dependent on other and doubt own abilities Stage 3 Initiative vs Guilt - Initiative - Learn to initiate behavior that will lead to their own goal - Do it their own way - Guilt - If initiative is hampered, develop sense of guilt - Inhibited creativity Stage 4 (6 to 13) Industry vs Inferiority - Competence - Industry - Strong self image through accomplishments - Start socializing with peers becoming important - Inferiority - Child doubts its abilities - Feel inferior to others - Stage 5 (13 to 18-20) Identity vs Role Confusion - Identity - Transition from childhood to adulthood - Where they fit in into society - Experimenting with one’s life (friend groups, hobbies, music) - Role Confusion - Can be most stressful period of life - Examining sexual and occupational identities - Not being able to accept oneself or others - Stage 6 (20-40) Intimacy vs Isolation - Love - Intimacy - Adult learns to intimately share himself with someone else - Person must first have a strong sense of self - Isolation - THe adult cannot be intimate until he has resolved “who am i?” - If not successfully asserted, may have difficulty developing and maintaining successful relationships with others Stage 7 (40 to 65) Generativity vs Stagnation - Care - Generativity - Unconsciously driven to generate one’s life’s work for the next generation - - - - Family, career, volunteering, contributing positively to society Stagnation - If the adult does not feel productive , may develop feelings of “not leaving a meaningful mark” - Accompanied of feeling of inactivity and worthlessness - May not have interest in self improvement Stage 8 (65+ older) Ego Integrity vs Despair - Ego Integrity - The senior citizen reflects on life to determine if their life was great - Despair - Man my life sucked - Not satisfied with life - Lawrence Kohlberg - Stage theory of Moral Development - Not directly tied to age - Heinz Dilemma - It’s not what your answer is, it is how you justify it - Adolescents new ability to think abstractly - Pre-Conventional - Based on consequence - Should not steal bc he will get in trouble - Self interest - Should steal bc his wife will owe him a favor Conventional - Based on conformity - Should steal bc a good husband - Based on social order Post- Conventional - Based on social contract - Based on universal ethical principles - - - Impulse Control - Ability of conscious mind to restrain the urges of the unconscious mind - Delayed gratification - Can tell yourself “not now” when you want something pleasurable - Theory of mind - Awareness that others have thoughts, knowledge and feelings that are not your own Development of Decisions related to intimacy as people Mature - Early Adulthood - Erikson’s Stage Adolescence - Early sexual activity is related to a host of multidimensional problems Middle Adulthood - Concern with money, job, and raising kids Late Adulthood - Stereotypes - inability and lack of desire - Reality: many older people enjoy a resurgence of intimacy THEY BE BANGING IN THE 90’s Describe How Sex and Gender Influence Socialization/Devolopment - Hormonal Ratio, Internal Genitals, External genitals, Brain Structures, How raised, Self identity - Sex - Biological differences between male and female - Gender - Behavior patterns deemed appropriate for men (masculine behaviors) and women (feminine behaviors) - Androgyny - Show both female and male characteristics - Gender expression/typing - How you demonstrate your gender based on traditional gender roles - Gender Identity - How a person thinks about himself or herself regardless of what their sex is - Social Learning Theory - Learning by observing and imitating - How boys and girls are raised - Parents have prenatal expectations on gender - Joan / John Experiment: Nature vs Nurture - Raise the twin boy as a girl - Ended horrible, its nature aND nurture - Instinctive Drift - Steering someone to a certain direction, but they’ll go back to their original instincts - ex) Coyote stop eating sheep, eventually they’ll start eating sheep again Physical Changes that Emerge Through lifespan - Average Life Expectancy: - Females live about 5 years longer than men - There is going to be a slowing of cell replacement, muscle mass, neural tissue, - - - - bone density - Age related damage might be the first thing that is noticed - Inner ear can result in dizziness and falls - None of us have perfect control of body’s organs (brain) - Aging can be slowed - Use it or lose it - Neurogenesis - Brain can grow new neurons Crystallized vs Fluid Intelligence - Crystallized - ability to problem solve using past knowledge Nature vs Nurture - Biological dispositions - Can still be slowed Personality, Life-style, explanatory style - Also psychological and emotional Late Adulthood - Stereotypes - Mid-Life crisis - Men go buy sport cars and bang young women (Not always true) - Senior Citizens - Poor health, inactivity, social isolation, mental incompetence (Not always true) Neurocognitive Disorder - Dementia - Slowed with social interaction, physical health Alzheimer’s Disease - Disruptions in acetylcholine transmission - Starts gradual, may go undiagnosed Unit 7: Motivation Theories of Motivation - Biological - Needs - - Biological Requirements Drives - Psychological tension states - Primary - Secondary Homeostasis - Internal balanced state - Body wants to maintain homeostasis - Arousal - Nervous System Stimulation Biological Motivation THeories - Yerkes-Dodson Law - Relationship between Arousal and Performance level - The easier task, higher level arousal is best - Difficult task, low arousal is best - Moderate level of arousal = Optimal performance - Evolutionary Theory - Evolutionary theory replaces instinct theory - Adaptive/survival functions of behavior - Natural selection - Drive Reduction Theory - Aim of motivation is homeostasis - Deficiency in biological need - Creates an internal psychological tension (drive) - Motivates individuals to act to fulfill the need and return the body to homeostasis. - Doesn’t explain other behaviors that would put you in danger - Skydiving, running a marathon - Optimal Arousal Theory - Aim of motivation is a personally preferred level of physiological stimulation - Arousal level - activation of autonomic nervous system - Escape from boredom (increase arousal) - Escape from stress (decrease arousal) - Optimal arousal theory is NOT the same as Yerkes Dodson law - Affiliation Motivation - Maslow and affilian - The drive to form attachments and connection with other people - Evolutionary theory - More likely to survive with connection - Measurement - Personality tests - Projection tests Sociocultural Based Motivation Theories - Incentive Theory - - - - Aim of motivation is a positive reinforcement The pull of an external stimuli - Driven by curiosity Extrinsic Drive - Rewards - Avoid punishment - grades Intrinsic - Internal drive or incentive - Curiosity - Pride Overjustification Effect - Extrinsic rewards weakens intrinsic motivation Self Efficacy - Belief in one’s ability to master a task High Self efficacy - Greater intrinsic motivation Low Self Efficacy - Uncertainty about one’s ability to master a task - Reduce intrinsic motivation - Avoidance of Challenges - Locus of Control - Beliefs about the causes of what happens to us - Internal - They have control about what happens to them - External - Result of luck or fate - Cognitive Dissonance Theory - Uncomfortable state where your beliefs clashes with your behavior - Aim of motivation is to reduce tension caused by an inconsistency in one's thoughts and behavior - Tension motivate behavior - Achievement Motivation - Maslow and Achievement - Social Learning (family/culture) - Self-Efficacy - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - Aim is to fulfill successively higher level of rank-ordered needs - Lower needs must be met before they are driven to fulfill others Hunger Motivation - Biological Factors - Signals from the stomach - Hormones - Glucose - Insulin and Glucagon - Ghrelin - Stomach - Orexin - Hypothalamus - Brain Circuits - Limbic System - Hypothalamus - Basic drives - Lateral - Makes people hungry - Destroyed = Appetite eliminated - Ventromedial - Makes people feel full - Destroyed = Appetite increased - Psychological Factors - Cognition - moods, thoughts affect hunger - Conditioning - Exposure - External incentives (How food looks) - Sociocultural Factors - What time you eat - Social rules - Cultural traditions Theories of Emotion - Emotion - Physiological arousal (body) - Cognitive and affective (mind) - Behavioral - expressions, gestures, body actions - Darwin - Natural selection of innate emotions and corresponding facial expressions - The adaptive value of specific emotion - The adaptive value of detecting emotions - James-Lange Theory - Physiological reaction and then resulting in emotion - Strengths - Stimuli create physiological responses which may lead to emotion - Cross cultural consistency in the description of emotions and their corresponding bodily reactions - Weaknesses - Diverse emotions (anger, fear, love) can have similar autonomic responses - Does not consider cognitive factors - Arousal can occur without emotion (exercise) - Facial Feedback Theories - Your facial expressions triggers your brain to feel emotions - Cannon Bard Theory - Simultaneous messages from the thalamus experience physiological reaction and emotion - Strengths - Explains rapid experience of both the emotion and the physiological arousal in some instances - Weakness - Thalamus is not the center for emotion - evidence indicates emotion involves many brain areas - Does not consider cognitive factors Dual Pathway Theory - Joseph LeDoux - Simultaneous reactions but one travels faster than the other - Thinking high road (slow) - cognitive - Low road (fast) - automatic - - Schachter-Singer Two Factor Theory - Factor 1: Physiological Reaction (body) - Factor 2: Cognitive Label (Our Emotion Interpretation by the Brain) - Then gives the emotion - Strengths - Theory is supported with experimental Research - Weaknesses - Does not account for emotional experiences that happen too quickly for cognitive labeling - Cognitive Appraisal Theory - RIchard Lazarus - Theory that cognition (effortful or unconscious) happens before the subjective experience of emotion - Two components - Primary appraisal - Deciding if an event will affect an individual personally - Evaluate threat - Secondary appraisal - Deciding how one should deal with the event - Choosing coping method - Universal Emotions - Anger, fear, surprise, disgust, sadness, surprise, happiness Stress and Coping - Fight or Flight: - Stress response involving sympathetic nervous system and endocrine system - Hypothalamus signals adrenal glands to release epinephrine and norepinephrine - Hypothalamus stimulates pituitary gland to stimulate adrenal glands to produce cortisol - endocrine system response - Physiological Stress Response - Sympathetic Adrenal Medullary (SAM) System - Nervous and endocrine FAST response to acute stressors - Hypothalamus activates adrenal glands, to secrete adrenaline - fight or flight - After stressor ends the parasympathetic nervous system returns the body to homeostasis - Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenocortical System (HPA) - Nervous and Endocrine SLOW response to chronic stressors - Cortisol helps body cope with chronic stressors and returning to - homeostasis High levels of stress hormones suppress white blood cells reducing immune system Stress and Illness - Stress might not cause illness but makes them worse General Adaptation Syndrome - Alarm - Sympathetic nervous system reaction - Highest level of stress hormones - Resistance - Elevated level of stress hormones - Body attempts to dapt higher arousal state - Exhaustion - Body’s internal resources are depleted Types of Stressors - - - - Distress - Stress from unpleasant experiences - Frustration - Conflict - Pressure Eustress - Positive stress resulting from pursuing challenging but achievable goals - Going to college Appraisal Theory - Primary Appraisal: Evaluate threat/stressor - Secondary Appraisal: - Choose coping method - Problem Focused - Directly facing the stressor head on - Emotion Focused - Focus on emotion to deal with stressor How we cognitively think affects outcome Motivational COnflict Theory (MUST BE A DIFFICULT CHOICE) - Lewin - Approach - Approach conflict - Make a choice between 2 good things - Watch a movie or Watch porn - Avoidance - Avoidance - - - Choose 1 of 2 options but don’t like either - Clean the toilet or study Approach - Avoidance - Attracted and repelled by SAME goal - Eat donut but unhealthy Double Approach - Avoidance - 2 choices BOTH good and bad Research Methods to Study Personalities - - - - - - Case Studies - Detailed info - Resource intensive - Often occurs after an incident or in unusual cases Surveys - Self report measure - Easy to give and score - Dishonesty, misunderstanding the question - Self report bias (lie about themselves) Personality inventories - Longer specialized survey - Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Designed to identify traits that might correspond with disorders - Factor analysis - Looking at relationships between variable - Objective - Can be scored by a machine Projective Tests - A person is shown an ambiguous stimuli and trained professional interprets it - Often people don’t have insight into themselves - Used to explore unconscious state - Pros - Removes Hawthorne Effect - Don’t know what the person is looking for - Cons - Relies on other people to interpret the results Thematic Apperception Test - A neutral scene is shown and the client will write or narrate a caption or explanation Rorschach Inkblot test - A set of cards shown to people for their responses will be interpreted for a pattern Psychoanalytic Theories - Sigmund Freud - Id - Ego - - - - Conflict makes personality Animal urges (id, hypothalamus) vs Society (superego, frontal lobe) Early childhood - Weaning, potty training, gender identity - infancy, pleasure principle - Toddlerhood, reality principle Superego - Conscience - Blend of society, parents, etc Neo Freudians - Unconscious processes create personality - Alfred Adler - Inferiority complex - Instead of unconscious sexual urges, we had an unconscious urge to prove ourselves superior to our younger selves Carl Jung - Collective unconscious - The idea that we share a common unconscious - Why we have similar dreams - Maybe instinct passed down from generation - Hermann Rorschach - Inkblot test - B.F. Skinner - Apply operant conditioning to personality - Personality is the result of the countless interactions between behaviors, reinforcement, and punishment - ex) if rewarded with friendship, will that make you extroverted? Albert Bandura - Model demonstrates - Child must have ability and motivation to imitate - We are actively evaluating, reaction, and changing environment - Reciprocal determinism - - - - Humanistic psychology - Rejection of fatalistic ideas that the unconscious or environment decides who we’ll be Abraham Maslow - We are motivated to grow, change, and seek who we could or should become under the right conditions - Self Actualization Carl Rogers - - Incongruence - When there is a difference between what people see themselves as and what they want to be or think they should be Ideal self - How a person wishes they were Perceived Self - How a person sees themselves Unconditional Positive Regard - Support and positivity even when there is disagreement - ex) parents support being an art major so you don't have incongru How Culture affects Personality Development - - - Self esteem - General feeling of worth Self efficacy - Idea of ability on a task - Albert Bandura Collectivistic - Tied to one’s position in a group or a family - Well being connected to how much you contribute to group’s success Individualistic Cultures - Identity and self-esteem are tied to how individual does - In competition with others - Depends on the work you do individually Trait Theories of Personality - - - - Factor Analysis - Mathematical technique to find significant relationships between variables Operationalization -> empiricism---> reductionism - Empiricism - Can be measured and observed - Reductionism - cannot reduce something into something narrow - Lose the idea of what it is - Careful not to risk validity Hans Eysenck - Extraversion vs Introversion - Emotional Stability vs Instability Five Factor Model of Traits - Openness - Low = don’t like new change - High = curious, wants to try new things - Conscientiousness - - - - Low - impulsive/careless - High - hardworking/dependable Extraversion - Low = quiet, withdrawn - High = outgoing, enjoys social Agreeableness - Low - critical of others - High - Trusting/empathetic Neuroticism - Low = Even-tempered, does not feel sad - High = Prone to anxiety and worry