Kristi Sherman Psychology Final Study Guide  Foundations of Psychology:  Early Schools of Thought  Wilhelm Wundt y established the

first psychology laboratory and institute y used reaction time to study psychological processes y introspection: a systematic examination of subjective mental experiences that requires people to inspect and report on the content of their thoughts to measure conscious experiences j problem is its experience is subjective y structuralism: an approach to psychology based on the idea that conscious experience can be broken down into its basic underlying components or elements (Titchener) y response performance: researchers quantify perceptual or cognitive processes in response to a specific stimulus j reaction time j response accuracy j stimulus judgment  William James y Critic of structuralism, argued that the mind was much more complex than its elements and therefore cannot be broken down y Stream of consciousness: describes one continuous series of ever-changing thoughts y Functionalism: concerned with adaptive purpose or function of mind and behavior j Influenced by Darwin y Progressive approach to education emphasized divergent thinking and creativity rather than the drill learning of conventional knowledge  Max Wertheimer y Founded the Gestalt school, opposed to structuralism y Gestalt theory: a theory based on the idea that the whole of a personal experience is different from simply the sum of its constituent elements j Expanded by Wolfgang Kohler y Phenomenological approach: unstructured reporting of experience by ordinary people y Perception of objects is subjective and dependent on context; two people can look at an object and see different things  Calkins y First woman to set up a psychology laboratory  Washburn y First woman to be officially granted a PhD  Sigmund Freud

Deduced that much of human behavior is determined by mental processes operating below the level of conscious awareness, unconscious y Developed psychoanalysis which is a method that attempts to bring the contents of the unconscious into conscious awareness so that conflicts can be revealed y Used free association, talk about whatever for however long  John B. Watson y Developed behaviorism j Psychological approach that emphasizes the role of environmental forces in producing behavior y Nature v. nurture question of central importance y Believed that animals acquired or learned all behaviors through environmental factors  Skinner y Like Watson, Skinner denied mental states existence y Believed that mental states were nothing more than an illusion  Modern Schools of Thought  ognitive psychology: the study of how people think, learn and remember y George Miller- cognitive revolution y The way people think about things influences their behavior  ognitive neuroscience: the study of the neural mechanisms that underlie thought, learning, and memory  Social psychology: the study of group dynamics in relation to psychological processes which focuses on the power of situation and on the way people are shaped through their interactions with others  Humanistic Approach: Rogers and Maslow emphasized how people can come to know and accept themselves in order to reach their unique potentials  Research Methods  Scientific method  A systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena to answer questions about what happens, when it happens, what causes it, and why  Empirical questions are questions that can be answered by observing the world and measuring aspects of it  Theory: explanation or a model of how something in the world works consisting of interconnected ideas and concepts used to make predictions for the future, continually refined by new hypotheses  Hypothesis: a specific prediction of what should be observed in the world if a theory is correct  Research: scientific process that involves the systematic and careful collection of data  Data: objective observations or measurements  Replication: repetition of an experiment to confirm the results  Types of Studies  Variable: something in the world that can be measured and that can vary  Descriptive study y Involve observing and noting behavior to analyze it objectively to watch changes unfold naturally, observational studies y Naturalistic observation: passive descriptive study in which observers do not change or alter ongoing behavior y Participant observation: descriptive study where the researcher is actively involved in the situation y

  

           

Longitudinal study y Involve observing and classifying developmental changes that occur in the same people over time, either with no intervention by the observer or with intervention by the observer y Expensive, takes a long time Cross-sectional study y Comparing different groups to make inferences about both y Faster and less expensive but include the possibility that some unidentified variable is responsible for any difference Observer bias: systematic errors in observation that occur because of an observer s expectations Experimenter expectancy effect: actual change in the behavior of the people or animals being observed that is due to observer bias Correlational study y Examines how variables are naturally related in the real world without any attempt by the researcher to alter them y Rely on naturally occurring relationships y Sometimes used for ethical reasons Directionality problem y When researchers find a relationship between two variables in a correlational study they cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable Third variable problem y When experimenter cannot directly manipulate the independent variable and therefore cannot be confident that another unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of differences in the dependent variable Experiment: study that tests casual hypotheses by measuring and manipulating variables If the independent variable influences the dependent variable then causation is assumed Confound: anything that affects a dependent variable and may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study, less confounds = more confidence Population: everyone in the group the experimenter is interested in Sample: a subset of a population Random sampling/assignment: each member of a population has an equal chance of being chosen, best, balances out unknown factors Convenience sampling: sample of people who are conveniently available for the study Selection bias: participants in different groups in an experiment differ systematically Meta-analysis: a study of studies that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion, large samples more accurate Cross-cultural studies y Compare groups of people from different cultures Reactivity: when the knowledge that one is being observed alters the behavior being observed Case study y Involves the intensive examination of one person or few individuals or one or few organizations, typically people organizations that are somehow unusual

y Descriptive study with a sample of one y No generalization, subjective y Determine which practices led to success of failure  Self-report method: a method of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves, such as in questionnaires or surveys  Experience sampling: samples of participants experiences  Better-than-average effect: describe self as being better than reality  High self esteem is culturally universal  Institutional review boards (IRBs): review all proposed research to ensure that it meets scientific standards and allays ethical concerns for the safety and well-being of participants y Reasonable expectation of privacy  Methods for organizational research = questionnaires and interviews  Informed consent: participants make a knowledgeable decision to participate, obtained in writing  Deception: used if knowing study s specific goals may alter participant s behavior  Debriefing: needed when deception is used, explanation of the study after its completion  Risk/benefit ratio: analysis of whether the research is important enough to warrant placing participants at risk  Biological Foundations of Behavior  How Neurons Work  Neuron y The basic unit of the nervous system y Operates through electrical impulses which communicate with other neurons through chemical signals y Receive, integrate (conduction) and transmit information  Sensory neuron y Detect information from the physical world and pass information to the brain (afferent)  Somatosensory: sensory nerves that provide information from muscles  Motor neurons y Direct muscles to contract or relax producing movement (efferent)  Interneurons: communicate within local or short distance circuits  Dendrites y Branchlike extensions of the neuron that detect information from other neurons  Cell body y In the neuron, where information from thousands of other neurons is collected and processed  Axon y A long narrow outgrowth of a neuron by which information is transmitted to other neurons  Terminal buttons y Small nodules at the ends of axons that release chemical signals from the neuron to the synapse  Synapse, or synaptic cleft y The site for chemical communication between neurons which contains extracellular fluid  Axon=sending neuron, dendrite= receiving neuron

 

  

            

Membrane regulates the concentration of electrically charged molecules that are the basis of the neuron s electrical activity Myelin sheath y A fatty material, made up of glial cells( Greek-glue), that insulates the axon and allows for the rapid movement of electrical impulses along the axon y Grows along axon in short segments Nodes of Ranvier: small gaps of exposed axon between the segments of myelin sheath where action potentials are transmitted Resting membrane potential: the electrical charge of a neuron when it is not active y Ratio of negative (K) to positive (Na) ions is greater inside the neuron than outside Ions pass through each cell membrane at an ion channel- specialized pored located at nodes of Ranvier y Each channel is specific for type of ion, gating mechanism y Ion flow also affected by cell membrane selective permeability Action potential y The neural impulse that passes along the axon and subsequently causes the release of chemicals from the terminal buttons, neural firing y Neuron receives chemical signals from nearby neurons through dendrites, tell neuron whether to fire or not (signals work by affecting polarization) j Excitatory signals depolarize cell membrane increasing likelihood neuron will fire j Inhibitory signals hyperpolarize cell and decrease likelihood that neuron will fire j If total amount of excitatory input from other neurons surpasses receiving neuron s threshold, action potential is generated When a neuron fires, sodium gates open, allowing sodium to rush into neuron which causes inside of neuron to become more positive than outside Then K channels open allowing K to rush out and large change from negative to positive charge inside neuron generates action potential Resting states= slightly negative Propagation: when neuron fires, cell membrane s depolarization moves along axon like a wave Na channels open successfully, always move down the axon away from the cell body to the terminal buttons Because of the myelin sheath, the action potential skips along axon and is recharged at every node of Ranvier Firing determined by number and frequency of excitatory and inhibitory signals All or none principle: neuron fires with the same potency each time (cannot partially fire, frequency can vary) Presynaptic: neuron that sends signal Postsynaptic: neuron that receives signal Neurotransmitters: the chemical substances that carry signals across synaptic cleft, in terminal buttons y Attach themselves to receptors on postsynaptic neuron Receptors: specialized protein molecules on postsynaptic membrane that neurotransmitters bind to after passing across the synaptic cleft Each receptor can be influenced by only one type of neurotransmitter-specific

When neurotransmitter released, they fill and stimulate receptor and block new signals until influence is terminated  Reuptake y A transmitter is taken back into the presynaptic terminal buttons, thereby stopping its activity  Enzyme deactivation occurs when enzyme destroys the transmitter substance in the synaptic cleft  Neurotransmitters bind with receptors on presynaptic neuron  Autoreceptors: monitor how much neurotransmitter has been released into synapse, when excess, autoreceptors signal presynaptic neuron to stop releasing  Drugs and toxins alter neurotransmitter actions  Agonist: increase release of neurotransmitter  Antagonist: block release of neurotransmitter  Acetylcholine y Monitor control over muscles, learning, memory, sleeping and dreaming  Monoamines y Regulate states of arousal and affect (feelings) to motivate behavior  Epinephrine y Adrenaline  Norepinephrine y Arousal and alertness/vigilance  Serotonin y Emotional states and impulsiveness, dreaming  Dopamine y Reward and motivation, motor control over voluntary movement y Depletion: Parkinson s Disease  Endorphin y Pain reduction, reward  Glutamate y Excitatory transmitter, learning and memory  Development  Stages of Development  Jean Piaget y Paid as much attention to how children made errors as to how they succeeded on tasks y Assimilation: new experience placed into existing schema y Accommodation: schema is changed to incorporate a new experience that does not easily fit into an existing schema y 4 Stages of Development j Sensorimotor stage: infants (birth-2 years) acquire information about the world through their senses and respond reflexively  Developed first schemas  Object permanence: the understanding that an object continues to exist even when it cannot be seen, key to completion

j Preoperational stage: (2-7 years) children think symbolically about objects, but reason is based on appearance rather than logic  No understanding of the law of conservation of quantity: that even if a substance s appearance changes, its quantity may remain unchanged j Concrete operational stage: (7-12 years) children begin to think about and understand operations in ways that are reversible  Operation = action that can be undone  Understand conservation of quantity  Don t have the ability to reason abstractly j Formal operational stage: (12-adulthood) ability to think abstractly and to formulate and test hypotheses and test hypotheses through deductive logic y Children s understanding of quantity of the concepts more than and less than had to do not with number but with length y Theory of mind: ability to explain and predict other people s behavior as a result of recognizing their mental state y False-belief test: measures children s ability to predict actions, people can act on the basis of false information Lawrence Kohlberg y Stage theory: tested moral-reasoning skills by asking people to respond to respond to hypothetical situations in which a main character was face with a moral dilemma y 3 levels of moral reasoning j Preconventional: self-interest/pleasure driven determines what is moral j Conventional: rules and the approval of others determine j Postconventional: decisions about morality depend on abstract principles y Focused largely on moral (secondary) emotions empathy and sympathy y Not all kids progress through stages at the same rate or in same order y Somatic-marker hypothesis: people have a visceral response to real or imagines outcomes that helps in decision making y Performative: word-like sounds that are learned in a context that a baby may not be using to represent a meaning y True words: meant to represent concepts y Deep structure: the implicit meanings of sentences y Language acquisition device: contains universal grammar y Whole-language approach: word meaning emphasized y Social development: the maturation of the skills and abilities that enable people to interact with each other Erik Erikson y Proposed a theory of development emphasizing age-related psychological processes and their effects on social functioning across a life span y Identity composed of 8 stages with developmental crisis/challenge j Infancy (0-2)

 Trust v. mistrust  Children learn that the world is safe and that people are loving and reliable j Toddler (2-3)  Autonomy v. shame and doubt  Encouraged to explore the environment, children gain feelings of independence and positive self-esteem j Preschool (4-6)  Initiative v. guilt  Children develop sense of purpose by taking on responsibilities but also develop the capacity to feel guilty for misdeeds j Childhood (7-12)  Industry v. inferiority  By working successfully with others, children learn to feel competent j Adolescence (13-19)  Ego identity v. role confusion  By exploring different social roles, adolescents develop a sense of identity j Young adulthood (20s)  Intimacy v. isolation  Young adults gain the ability to commit to long term relationships j Middle adulthood (30s to 50s)  Generativity v. stagnation  Adults gain a sense that they are contributing to the future and caring for future generations j Old age (60s and beyond)  Integrity v. despair  Older adults feel a sense of satisfaction that they have lived a good life and developed wisdom  Cognitive changes from childhood to adolescence  Three changes y Changing physical appearance (self image) y More sophisticated cognitive abilities (increased introspection) y Heightened pressure to prepare for future  Biocultural systems theory- how develop sense of identity y Microsystem: center, most immediate, direct effects y Exosystem: external system, direct influences y Macrosystem: larger sociocultural context in which child is reared y Chronosystem: norms and rules at historical time child is reared  Group socialization theory: children learn 2 socialization behaviors, inside and outside home  Peers= most important socialization influence  Gender identity: personal beliefs about whether one is a male or female  Gender roles: characteristics associated with males and females because of cultural influence or learning  Gender schemas: cognitive structures that influence hoe people perceive behaviors of males and females

 Biology has a strong effect on whether people identify as a male or female  Sensation and Perception  How sensation works  Sensation: the sense organs responses to external stimuli in the transmission of these responses to the brain, result of brain processes that actively construct perceptual experiences  Sensory coding: sensory organs translations of stimuli s physical properties into neural impulses, different features = different neural impulse patterns  Transduction: a process by which sensory receptors produce neural impulses when they receive physical or chemical stimulation, connecting neurons transmit information to the brain  Brain needs qualitative and quantitative information about the stimulus  Coarse coding: sensory qualities are coded by only a few different types or receptors, each of which responds to a broad range of stimuli  Psychophysics: examines psychological experiences of physical stimuli, how much change is required before we notice that change y Absolute threshold: the minimum intensity of stimulation that must occur before you experience a sensation, stimulus detected above chance y Difference threshold: noticeable difference between two stimuli, the minimum amount of change required for a person to detect a difference, increases as stimulus becomes more intense  Weber s law: states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is based on proportion of the original stimulus rather than on a fixed amount of difference  Sensory threshold: determines whether object is sensed  Sensory adaptation: decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation, mind is adaptive  Hearing/audition y Movements and vibrations of objects cause displacement of air molecules y Sound wave: the pattern of the changes in air pressure through time that results in the percept of a sound y Wave amplitude determines loudness y Waves frequency (hertz) determines pitch y Sensory experiences occurs within the brain (integrates signals provided by sound waves) y Sound waves arrive at outer ear and travel to ear drum (a think membrane, which sound waves vibrate, that marks the beginning of the middle ear) and make it vibrate y Vibrations are transferred to ossicles j Hammer, anvil, stirrup- which transfer vibrations to oval window (membrane of cochlea or inner ear, a fluid tube that curls up into snail shape y Basilar membrane: runs through center of cochlea, thin y Oval window vibrations creates pressure in inner ear fluid, hair cells end and cause neurons on basilar membrane to fire y Hair cells = primary auditory receptors y Sound wave hitting ear drum = neural signal travels via auditory nerve  Sight/vision- most important

Light passes through corneas (clear outer covering of eye), focuses incoming light in process call refraction, light rays enter and are bent further inward by lens, focuses light to form image on retina (inner surface of back of eyeball that contains photoreceptors that transduce light into neural signals) y Lens is adjustable and cornea is not y Pupil: small opening in eye, lets in light waves, contracts or dilates to determine how much light enters y Iris: the colored muscular circle on the surface of the eye, it changes shape to let in more or less light j Flattens for distant objects and thickens for closer objects- accommodation y Rods: retinal cells that respond to low levels of illumination and result in black and white perception, night vision j Located at retinas edges, none in fovea y Cones: retinal cells that respond to higher levels of illumination and result in color perception, detail j Located in fovea y Photopigments: light sensitive chemicals that initiate transduction of light waves into neural impulses y Fovea: the center of the retina, where cones are densely packed y Generation of electrical signals by photoreceptors : light is transduced into neural impulses by rods and cones, other cells help process information, outputs go to ganglion cells which generate action potentials, ganglion cells send signals along axons to thalamus (axons gathered in bundle called optic nerve which carries info to CNS) y Point at which the optic nerve exits the retina has not rods or cones, resulting in blind spot in each eye y At optic chiasm, half of axons in optic nerve cross y First synapse of majority of ganglion cells lies within visual areas of thalamus and visual information is transmitted from there to primary visual cortex j Pathway from retinal to this region carries all info experience as seeing y Receptive field: region of visual space to which neurons in primary visual cortex are sensitive y Lateral inhibition: adjacent photoreceptors inhibit one another y Color of light determined by wave length of electromagnetic waves that reach eye j Hue, brightness, saturation y Color determined by mixture of wave lengths j Subtractive: absorbs each others wave length, see wave length left over  Red, yellow, blue = black j Additive: interaction of wave lengths with receptors in eye  Red, green, blue = white y Color vision caused by cones in center of retina y Opposite colors: different combinations of cones converge on ganglion cells in retina opposed  How perception works  Perception: the processing organization and interpretation of sensory signals; it results in an internal representation of the stimulus, based off prior experiences  Signal detection theory: theory of perception based on that idea that the detection of a faint stimulus requires a judgment , it is not an all-or-none process  Most computations brain performs never reach consciousness y

Other than olfaction, sensory info is related to cortical and other areas of brain from thalamus then to cerebral cortex (primary sensory areas)  Object agnosia: inability to recognize objects  Gestalt- organized whole (organization for sensory information) y Principle of proximity: the closer two figures are to each other, the more likely we are to group them as part of the same object y Similarity: group figures according to how closely they resemble each other y Good continuation: interpret intersecting lines at continuous y Closure: complete figures even when gaps exist y Illusionary contours: perceive contours (boundary lines) even when they do not exist y Bottom-up processing: data relayed from lower to higher levels of processing y Top-down processing: data from higher levels of processing influence lower j What we expect to see influences what we perceive y Fusiform gyrus: perception of faces y Perceptual constancy: people correctly perceive objects as constant in their shape, size, color and lightness, despite how raw sensory data that could mislead perception j Size constancy: how far away object is j Shape constancy: from what angle are we seeing object j Color constancy: compare wave lengths of light reflected from object with those reflected from background j Lightness constancy: how much light is being reflected from object and from its background j In all cases, brain computes a ratio based on relative magnitude rather than relying on each sensation s absolute magnitude (detect changes from baseline positions)  States of Consciousness  Sleep and dreams  Many brain regions more active during sleep than wakefulness  Sleep- not conscious but brain still processes information and sometimes remains aware of environment  REM sleep: stage in sleep marked by rapid eye movements, dreaming and paralysis of motor systems (paradoxical sleep)  Dreams: product of an altered state of consciousness y Occur in REM and non-REM sleep with different content because activation of different brain regions y REM dreams are more bizarre, illogical and less dull y REM and dreams controlled by different neural signals, one can happen without the other  Freud- dreams contain hidden content that represents unconscious conflicts y Manifest content: dream the way the dreamer remembers y Latent content: what the dream symbolizes (material disguised)  Activation- synthesis hypothesis: random neural stimulation from the pons activates mechanisms that normally interpret visual input- dreams are epiphenomenal y Amygdala= source of dreams emotional content y Frontal lobes= dreams delusional and illogical aspects  Restorative theory: sleep allows brain and body to rest and repair selves

Sleep deprived people find it hard to perform quiet tasks and impossible to perform boring tasks, causes mood problems, decreases cognitive performance, attention lapses, decreased short-term memory  Extended sleep deprivation compromises immune system and makes people prone to Microsleeps  Sleep deprivation may help people overcome depression  Drugs  Psychoactive drugs: mind-altering substances that change the brain s neurochemistry by activating neurotransmitter systems y Depends on which systems activates y Stimulants, depressants, narcotics, hallucinogens y Marijuana (THC): relaxed mental state, uplifted/contented mood, perceptual and cognitive distortions, makes perceptions more vivid, affects taste j Experienced users experience a better high j Activation of cannabinoid receptors adjusts and enhances mental activity and maybe alters pain perception (in hippocampus-impairs memory) y Stimulants: drugs that increase behavioral and mental activity-activate sympathetic nervous system j Improve mood, restlessness, disrupt sleep j Interferes with normal reuptake of dopamine by releasing neuron, allowing dopamine to remain in synapse, sometimes also increases release of dopamine j Cocaine: confidence, feel good, alert, energetic, sociable, wide awake  Large, habitual amounts- paranoia, psychotic behavior, violence j Amphetamines: (speed, meth, ice, crystal) weight loss, staying awake, insomnia, anxiety, heart problems, addiction  Methamphetamine= 2nd most commonly used illicit drug  Easy to make from over-the-counter drugs  Blocks reuptake of dopamine, increases release of dopamine- tons  Effects on memory and emotion y MDMA (ecstasy): produces energizing effect similar to that of stimulants but causes hallucinations (serotonin release) j Memory problems, diminished ability to perform complex tasks, depressed when drug s rewarding properties wear off y Opiates (heroin, morphine): reward value by increasing dopamine activation in nucleus accumbens and binding with opiate receptors, producing feelings of relaxation, analgesia and euphoria j Heroin= rush of intense pleasure, highly addictive j Relieve pain and suffering, neurological and cognitive deficits y Alcohol= most widely abused drug j Men drink more than women- drinking large quantities is a symbol for male power  Power, sex, and risks j Moderate alcohol= more , large amount of alcohol= j Expectations about alcohol profoundly affect behavior j Triggers neurotransmitter systems and activates receptors for GABA, opiates and dopamine j Interferes with neurochemical processes involved with memory

Dopamine activity in limbic system underlies rewarding properties of drugs which causes addiction (brain region= insula)  Learning and Memory  Classical and operant conditioning modeling  Classical conditioning (Pavlovian conditioning): a type of learned response that occurs when a neutral object comes to elicit a reflexive response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces that response- influenced by Darwin y Unconditioned response: response that does not have to be learned; reflex y Unconditioned stimulus: stimulus that elicits a response, such as a reflex, without any prior learning y Conditioned stimulus: stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place y Conditioned response: response that has been learned y Acquisition: the gradual formation of an association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus y Critical-in acquisition of a learned association stimuli must occur together at same time- contiguity y Spontaneous recovery: a process in which a previously extinguished response reemerges following presentation of the conditioned stimulus y Stimulus generalization: occurs when stimuli that are similar but not identical to the conditioned stimulus produce the conditioned response y Stimulus discrimination: a differentiation between two similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with unconditioned stimulus y Second-order conditioning: conditioned stimulus becomes directly associated not with an unconditioned stimulus but rather with other stimuli associated with the US y Plays a role in drug addiction y Rescorla-Wagner model: the strength of the CS-US association is determined by the extent to which the US is unexpected/surprising y More passive than operant  Operant conditioning (instrumental conditioning): a learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood that it will be performed in the future (B.F. Skinner) y Animals operate on environment to produce different effects y Law of effect: any behavior leading to satisfy a state of affairs will more likely occur again, while any behavior leading to annoying state of affairs will less likely occur again y Reinforcer: a stimulus that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated y Shaping: process of operant conditioning that involves reinforcing behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior y Reinforcing successive approximations eventually produces the desired behavior by teaching the animal to discriminate which behavior is being reinforced y Primary reinforcers: biological needs (food, water) y Secondary reinforcers: events or objects that serve as reinforcers but don t satisfy biological needs established though classical conditioning y

Premack principle: more valued activity can be used to reinforce the performance of a less valued activity y Positive reinforcement: increases the probability that a behavior will be repeated y Negative reinforcement: increases behavior through removal of a stimulus y Positive punishment: decreases behavior s probability through the administration of a stimulus y Negative punishment: decreases behavior s probability through removal of a pleasurable stimulus y Continuous reinforcement: behavior must be reinforced each time it occurs y Partial reinforcement: behavior reinforced intermittently y Ratio schedule: based on number of time behavior occurs- greater responding y Interval schedule: based on specific unit of time y Fixed schedule: reinforcer consistently is given after a specific number of occurrences or after a specific amount of time y Variable schedule: reinforcement is applied at different rates or at different times y Variable-ratio schedule: persistent behavior y Behavior modification: use of operant conditioning techniques to eliminate unwanted behaviors and replace them with desirable ones  Stage Models of Memory  Information processing model: compares the working memory to the actions of a computer y Encoding: the processing of information so it can be stored (keyboard) y Storage: the retention of encoded representations over time that corresponds to some change in the nervous system that registers the event (hard drive) y Retrieval: the act of recalling stored information to use it (monitor)  Modal memory model: involves sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory y Sensory memory: unattended information is lost y Short-term memory: unrehearsed information is lost (maintenance rehearsal) y Long-term memory: some information may be lost over time (can be retrieved to short-term memory)  Amnesia: deficit in long-term memory y Retrograde amnesia: people lose past memories y Anterograde amnesia: people lose ability to form future memories  Cognition and Language  Cognition: mental activity such as thinking or representing information  Concept: mental representation or groups that categorizes objects, events, or relations around common themes y Defining attribute model: each concept is characterized by a list of features that are necessary to determine if an object is a member of the category y Prototype model: within each category, some members are more representative than others y Exemplar model: information stored about the members of a category is used to determine category membership  Heuristics: in problem solving, shortcuts used to reduce the amount of thinking that is needed to move from an initial state to goal state (often unconscious) y Can result in bias y

Availability heuristic: making decision based on the answer that most easily comes to mind Representativeness heuristic: a rule for categorization based on how similar the person or object is to our prototypes for that category  Language: y Performative: word-like sounds that are learned in a context that a baby may not be using to represent a meaning y True words: meant to represent concepts y Deep structure: the implicit meanings of sentences y Language acquisition device: contains universal grammar y Whole-language approach: word meaning emphasized  Motivation and Emotion  Motivation: factors that engage, direct or sustain behaviors  Need hierarchy (Maslow): arrangement of needs in which basic survival needs are lowest priority and personal growth needs are highest priority y Psychological- hunger, thirst, warmth, air, sleep y Safety- security, protection, freedom from threats y Belonging and love- acceptance, friendship y Esteem- good self opinion, accomplishments, reputation y Self-actualization- living to full potential, achieving personal dreams and aspirations y Homeostasis: the tendency for bodily functions to maintain equilibrium j Negative feedback: biological processes cause people to respond by adjusting the situation to fill their biological needs j Yerkes-Dodson: performance increases with arousal up to an optimal point and then decreases with increasing arousal  Types of Motivation y Extrinsic motivation: emphasizes the external goals an activity is directed toward y Intrinsic motivation: the value or pleasure that is associated with an activity that has not apparent external goal or purpose, enjoyable  Emotion: feelings that involve subjective evaluation, psychological processes and cognitive beliefs  Affect-as-information theory: people use their current mood states to make judgments and appraisals, even if they do not know the sources of their moods  Three major theories of emotion: y James-Lange Theory: felt emotion is the result of perceiving specific patterns of bodily responses j Stimulus > arousal > emotion y Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory: j Stimulus > arousal + cognitive label > emotion y Cannon-Bard Theory: the information from an emotion producing stimulus is processed independently in cortical and in subcortical structures, causing the experience of two separate things at roughly the same times j Stimulus = arousal + emotion  Personality y y

 Theories of Personality  Personality: characteristic thoughts, emotional responses and behaviors that are relatively stable in an individual over time and across circumstances  Psychodynamics Theory (Freud): unconscious forces, such as wishes and motives, influence behavior (instincts) y People follow the life instinct by following the pleasure principle (libido) y Most of the conflict between psychological forces occurs at conscious awareness y Topographical model: structure of mind divided into zones of mental awareness j Preconscious: not currently in awareness but could be brought to awareness but could be brought to awareness (like long-term memory) j Unconscious: contains material that the mind cannot easily retrieve  Wishes, desires, motives j Conscious: people are aware of their thoughts y Development of sexual instincts j Psychosexual stage: developmental stages that correspond to the pursuit of satisfaction and libidinal urges  Oral stage (birth-18 mo): mouth  Anal stage (2-3yr): anus  Phallic stage (3-5yr): genitals  Oedipus complex: males want relationship with mom  Electra complex: girls want relationship with dad  Hostility towards other parents (want to kill)  Latency stage: libidinal urges suppressed or channeled into doing school work or building friendships  Genital stage: adolescents and adults attain mature attitudes about sexuality and adulthoodcapacity to contribute to society  Some people become fixated at a stage j Id: pleasure principle, impulse and desire j Superego: internalization of societal and parental standards of conduct j Ego: tries to satisfy the wishes of the id while being responsive to the dictates of the superego j Defense mechanisms: unconscious mental strategies the mind uses to protect itself from conflict and distress y Five-Factor Theory (The Big 5) j Openness to experience j Conscientiousness j Extraversion j Agreeableness j Neuroticism y Humanistic Approach (Maslow): emphasize personal experience and belief systems; they propose that people seek growth to fulfill their human potential j Self-actualization

y y

Person-centered approach (Rogers): emphasized people s personal understandings, or phenomenology Other Theory (Jung, Adler, and Horney) j Modified Freud s ideas in their own psychodynamic theories j Criticized Freud s view of women j Rejected his emphasis on sexual forces and instead focused on social interactions j Object relations theory: object of attachment is another person, such as parent or spouse Individual Differences y Self-concept: everything you know about yourself, helps adjust to environment y Self-monitoring: involves being sensitive to cues of situational appropriateness j High self-monitoring- alter their behavior to match the situation, exhibit low levels of consistency j Low self-monitoring- less able to alter they self-presentations to match situational demands, more consistent across circumstances y Self-regulatory capacities: people set personal goals, evaluate their progress, and adjust their behavior

 Stress  Stress: a pattern of behavioral and psychological responses to events that match or exceed an organism s ability to respond in a healthy way  Stressor: an environmental event or stimulus that threatens an organism  Coping response: any response an organism makes to avoid, escape from or minimize an aversive stimulus  Eustress: stress of positive events  Distress: stress of negative events  Daily hassles: small day to day irritations and annoyances, slowly wear down personal resources  Hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis: the biological system responsible for stress response y Stressful events > brain > hypothalamus > (chemical message) > pituitary gland > (hormones) > adrenal glands > cortisol (results in increased energy) y Stress effects longer than stressor because hormones travel slowly  Fight or flight response: physiological preparedness of animals to deal with danger y Increased heart rate, redistribution of blood supply to muscles and brain, deep respiration, dilation of pupil, inhibition of gastric secretions, increase in glucose y Cannon and Bard  Tend and befriend response: females tendency to protect and care for offspring and for social alliances rather than flee or fight in response to a threat (oxytocin)  Lymphocytes: specialized white blood cells known as B cells, T cells, and natural killer cells that make up the immune system  Immune system: the body s mechanism for dealing with invading microorganisms  General adaptation syndrome (Selye): body response to stress, 3 stages y Alarm: fight or flight, boost physical abilities, reduce activities that make organism vulnerable to infection after injury y Resistance: defenses prepare for longer, sustained attack, immunity increase y Exhaustion: physiological and immune systems fail  Short-term stress boosts immune system, chronic stress weakens it because decreased lymphocyte production

Coronary heart disease influenced by stress (genetics, higher in males) Allostatic load theory of illness: when people are continually stressed, they are unable to return to bodily states that characterize normal stress levels  Coping strategies y Primary appraisal: involves making decisions about whether a stimulus is stressful, benign or irrelevant y Secondary appraisal: people evaluate their options and choose coping behaviors y Anticipatory coping: coping that occurs before onset of a future stress y Emotion-focused coping: people try to prevent having an emotional response to a stressor, adapting strategies to numb the pain j Strategies don t solve problem or prevent reoccurrence y Problem-focused coping: people take direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor, perceive stressors as controllable y Positive reappraisal: focus on possible good things about current situation j Downward comparisons: compare self to those worse off j Creation of positive events: infuse ordinary events with positive meaning y Stress-resistant: ability to adapt to life changes by viewing events constructively (hardiness) j Commitment, challenge, control y Family interventions are helpful only when family members promote patients autonomy  Abnormal Behavior  Hypotheses and Theories  Continuity hypothesis: the terms insanity and mental illness should not be used, extreme versions of everyday problems y Psychological model: teach new coping strategies, examine perspective  Discontinuity hypothesis: only strong terms can accurately portray the nature of abnormal behavior  Medical model: it is an illness of disease to be cured  Psychological model: talk therapy, look for underlying causes and conflicts, learn ways to look at the world and cope, multiple perspectives y Family systems model y Sociocultural model: views pathology as the result of the interaction between individuals and their culture  Biological y Some mental disorders arise from prenatal problems such as malnutrition, exposure to toxins and maternal illness y During childhood and adolescence, environmental toxins and malnutrition can put at risk for disorders y Brain regions may function different in people with mental disorders (genetics) y Vulnerabilities (also influence by situational factors) y Diathesis-stress model: proposes that a disorder may develop when an underlying vulnerability is coupled with a precipitating event  Medical model: medication and psychotherapy y ECT, surgery in rare cases y Controversy over symptoms versus cause

 

y Side effects and compliance can be problematic  Mental disorders  Stress and anxiety disorders y Anxiety disorder: excessive levels of negative emotions j Uncomfortable and disruptive levels of anxiety j Affects women more than men y Phobias: intense, unrealistic or irrational fear, makes life harder to live j Specific phobia: heights, spiders j Social phobia: irrational fear of doing something embarrassing in public  Agoraphobia: fear of going out in public j Generalized anxiety disorder: free-floating anxiety (mild)  No periods of calm experienced  Vague, uneasy tension j Panic anxiety disorder: intensely uncomfortable attacks of anxiety  Extremely sensitive to small bodily changes  Attack causes exaggerated bodily reactions y Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): affects survivors of profoundly traumatic events j Suffer severe reaction years after event j Some recover, some get worse over time j Experiences: nightmares, flashbacks, intense emotional reaction, difficulty concentrating or sleeping j Risk factors:  Severity of stress (physical injury = increased risk)  Characteristics before event  Higher anxiety  Previous mental health problems  Previous traumatic events/struggles  Social support  Sex of victim (women more vulnerable) y Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) j Obsessions: continuous anxiety- provoking thoughts j Compulsions: impossible urge to engage in specific behaviors y Somatoform disorders: symptoms of physical health problems with psychological causes j Somatization disorders: intensely and chronically uncomfortable conditions j Somatoform pain disorder: primary symptom is pain without physical cause j Hypochrondriasis: preoccupation with health j Conversion disorders: symptoms not medically possible y Dissociative disorder: broad category of loosely related conditions j Depersonalization: distorted, unreal feelings j Dissociative amnesia: psychological cause j Dissociative fugue: complete loss of memory j Dissociative identity disorder: multiple personality disorder

Mood disorders y Depression j Major depression j Episodic disorder, common j Often mild but takes toil j Feature psychotic distortion of reality in rare cases y Bipolar disorder j Depression and mania j High levels of anxiety, genetic influences y Schizophrenia: uncommon disorder affecting men more j Gradual with sudden break j Genetic and environmental causes j Delusions and hallucinations j Disorganized thinking, emotions and behavior j Reduced enjoyment and interests j Paranoid schizophrenia  Paranoia: false beliefs, delusions  Grandeur, reference (everyone talking about you), persecution, hallucinations j Disorganized schizophrenia  Cognitive processes highly disorganized or fragmented  Extreme social withdrawal j Catatonic schizophrenia: delusions and hallucinations less prevalent  Abnormalities in social interaction and body posture/movement y Delusional disorder: characterized by paranoid delusions of grandeur and persecution j People may appear normal or charismatic j Believability of delusions  Personality disorders: y Schizoid personality disorder j Blunted emotions, social withdrawal, no serious cognitive disturbances y Antisocial personality disorder j Feel little guilt, exploit others, frequent violation of social rules and laws, difficulty with personal relationships, low tolerance for frustration, high need for stimulation y Borderline personality disorder j Unstable sense of self, highly impulsive behavior in self-damaging areas, inappropriate/intense anger, unstable personal relationships, stress-related paranoia or dissociative symptoms  Therapies  Types of psychotherapy  Psychotherapy: formal psychological treatment, aimed at changing patterns of thought or behavior  Biological therapies: based on medical approaches to illness and disease y Mental disorders result from abnormalities in neural and bodily processes  Psychopharmacology: use of medications that affect brain or bodily functions

y Effective on short-term basis only Psychodynamic therapy (insight- Freud) y Believed disorders were caused by prior experience y Psychoanalysis: client lay on couch and psychologist out of view to reduce client s inhibitions j Free associations j Dream analysis y Insight: personal understanding of own psychological processes y Reformulated: help people understand why they are distressed by examining their needs, defenses and motives y Promise for only a few disorders- borderline personality Humanistic therapy (focus on whole person): emphasizes personal experience and belief systems and phenomenology of individuals y Client-centered therapy: encourages personal growth through greater understanding (empathetic) Rogers j Creates safe and comforting setting for clients to access true feelings j Reflective listening: repeats client s concerns j Motivational interviewing: short period treatment for drug/alcohol abuse j Cognitive-behavioral therapy: treat thoughts and behaviors as the problem and directly target them in therapy  Premise that behavior is learned and can be unlearned with classical and operant conditioning  Behavior modification based on operant conditioning: rewards desired behaviors and ignores or punishes unwanted behaviors  Social skills training: way to elicit desired behavior  Modeling: therapist acts out appropriate behavior for client to repeat j Cognitive therapy: based on idea that distorted thoughts can produce maladaptive behaviors and emotions j Cognitive restructuring: clinicians help clients recognize maladaptive thought patterns and replace them with ways of viewing the world that are more in tune with reality j Rational-emotive therapy (Ellis): therapists act as teachers who explain and demonstrate more adaptive ways of thinking and behaving j Interpersonal therapy: focuses on relationships the client attempts to avoid j Cognitive-behavioral therapy: incorporates techniques from behavioral and cognitive therapies to correct faulty thinking and change maladaptive behavior j Exposure: client exposed repeatedly to anxiety-producing stimulus or situation Group therapy- builds social support y Less expensive, provides opportunity for members to improve social skills and learn from one another s experiences y Organized around particular type of problem or client y Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral groups usually are highly structured, with specific goals and techniques designed to modify the thought and behavior patterns of group members y Less structured groups focus on increasing insight and providing social support

Family therapy-focuses on family context y Systems approach: an individual is part of a larger context, and any change in individual behavior will affect the whole system y Expressed emotion: a pattern of interactions that includes emotional over-involvement, critical comments and hostility directed toward a patient by family members y Families levels of negative expressed emotion correspond to relapse rate for patients with schizophrenia Medical treatments y Psychotropic medications: drugs that affect mental processes- change brain neurochemistry y Anti-anxiety drugs: class of psychotropic medications used for treatment of anxiety j Tranquilizers (short-term treatment)- benzodiazepines (GABA) y Antidepressants: used to treat depression j MAO inhibitors- converts serotonin into another form= more serotonin, Norepinephrine, and dopamine j Tricyclic antidepressants: inhibit reuptake of certain neurotransmitters j Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and act on other neurotransmitters (to lesser extent) y Antipsychotics (neuroleptics)- treat schizophrenia and other disorders involving psychosis y Reduce symptoms by binding to dopamine receptors and blocking the effects of dopamine j Significant side effects can be irreversible (dyskinesia) j Only useful for treating positive symptoms of schizophrenia y Lithium = bipolar disorder treatment y Anticonvulsants= prevent seizures and regulates mood y Extreme cases j Trepanning: surgery used to let out evil spirits j Psychosurgery: areas of frontal cortex severely damaged (early) j Pre-frontal lobotomy: involved severing nerve-fiber pathways in the prefrontal cortex- impaired many important functions j Electroconvulsive therapy: place electrodes on patient s head and administer electric current strong enough to produce a seizure  Under anesthesia  Severe depression treatment j Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): powerful electrical current produces a magnetic field  When rapidly witched on and off, induces an electrical current in brain region directly below coil, interrupting neural functioning in that region  Single pulse TMS: disruption of brain activity occurs only during brief period of stimulation  Multiple pulses of TMS/repeated TMS: occur over extended time, disruption lasts beyond point of direct stimulation (depression) j Deep brain stimulation: surgically implanting electrodes deep within brain using mild electricity to stimulate brain at optimal frequency and intensity (DBS)- Parkinson s disease (dopamine), OCD, depression

j Pseudotherapies (no scientific basis) = dangerous  Issues in treatment y Psychological therapies j Availability of therapists j Many approaches to therapy- one size does not fit all j Important to have good relationship with therapist  Geographical and insurance issues- hard to find j Compliance with medication  Medication has side effects  Medications interact with other substances (alcohol)  Difficulty adjusting to medication  Discomfort at initial doses  Difficulty staying on meds  Difficulty obtaining meds  Insurance coverage j Side effects to ECT- interferes with memory, retrograde amnesia, anterograde amnesia short-term, interferes with cognitive function j Side effects to psychosurgery: impairs cognitive function j Stigmatizing effect seeking help for disorders j Implications of medical model  Ethical Concerns  Relationship involves authority of therapies, vulnerable client revealing personal information  Goals of treatment understood/agreed to by client in best interest of client and society  Careful consideration given to alternatives  Therapist treats only within limits of expertise  Effectiveness of treatment must be evaluated rules and laws of confidentiality followed  No abuse of therapist-client relationship  Therapist must treat all humans with dignity  Respect all genders, races, sexual orientation, etc.  Social Psychology  Attitudes and Persuasion  Attitudes: evaluation of objects, events and ideas- behavior, affect, cognition  Persuasion: active and conscious effort to change attitudes through the transmission of a message  Elaboration likelihood model: theory of how persuasive messages lead to attitude changes (peripheral/minimal and central/strong attitudes routes)  4 Variables of persuasion y Source: kind of person/group doing the persuading j Important when perceiver isn t motivated j Factors that would make source more or less persuasive: credibility, expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness, likability, similarity y Message: content of persuasive message

Evidence based appeals are persuasive but not all evidence is Vividness: graphic or vivid imagery sometimes more persuasive Fear appeals: using threatening info to get attention Humor: attracts more attention Vivid appeals: messages use graphics or vivid imagery sometimes more persuasive  Primes relevant information to make it easier to process message  Graphic images could be distracting  Doesn t help if not paying full attention j Humor appeals y Medium/channel: how persuasive message is communicated j Rapid speech: suggests credibility  Works best when target is opposed to message  Takes advantage of low cognitive resources j Powerful speech: clear, unhesitant, few questions  Conveys competence and credibility y Target: kind of person/group being persuaded j People easier to persuade in good mood j Less likely to process effortfully j Involvement  More invested you are in the issue, the harder you are to persuade  More likely to process effortfully  Social Influence- the exercise of social power by a person or group (force available to motivate) 3 consequences:  Conformity: copying the behavior and beliefs of others, whether requested or not y Normative conformity: conforming to gain approval y Informational conformity: conforming to determine appropriate action y Conformity comes from social power and norms y Norms: expected standard of behavior and belief established and enforced by a group y Important when situation is ambiguous or uncertain y Some situations can automatically activate related norms j Stanford prison study- what will good people do in bad situations j Independence (disregard for social influence, what you want) v. anticonformity (actively oppose social influence)  Compliance: publically acting in accord with a direct request y May agree or disagree with request or no option, often out of habit y External compliance: compliance with private disagreement y Internal compliance: compliance with private agreement (acting according to beliefs and principles) y 3 factors encourage compliance j Positive mood j Reciprocity j Giving reasons (even if not good) j j j j j

2 steps compliance strategies j Foot in the door- secure compliance for small request followed by larger j Door in the face- follow refusal of large request with smaller, more reasonable request j Low balling- secure agreement with request by understanding its true cost, get target to commit to deal then change conditions- takes advantage of commitment  Obedience: the performative of the action in response to a direct refusal y Most people would rather be asked than ordered to do something y Milgram obedience study- (WWII) student/teacher- for every wrong question, increases shock, 15-450 volts, 65% people went past danger, none went below 300 volts y Factors that influence level of obedience j Effect replicated (in college students, other countries) j Psychological and physical pain j Type of person (scientist), distance between people y Wendy s strip search, nurse new drug dosage  Stereotypes and Prejudice  Stereotyping: beliefs about characteristics, attributes and behaviors of members of a social group (schemas)  Prejudice: evaluation of a person based on the stereotype of their social group y Evaluation based on endorsement of stereotype y Can also be positive or negative- in favor of own group as well as against other groups y May have origins in conflict j Real or perceived conflict over resources or values  The Robber s Cave Study (Muzafer Sherif) y 22 11 year old suburban white middle-class boys y Summer camp-allowed to form friendships on bus y The eagles and rattlers- groups didn t see each other, had exclusive use of resources j Formed hierarchies within 3 days y After a while, brought groups back together j Name calling, pranks, fistfights (cut study short) y Role of cooperation v. competition j Relations got better with cooperation, worse with competition y