Unit 4

 

Brain

amygdala-influences emotions of fear and aggression

medulla-controls breathing and heartbeat

cerebellum-processes sensory input and coordinates movement output and balance

corpus callosum-large band of neural fibers that link the right and left hemispheres of the brain

Wernicke’s area-located in the temporal lobe, involved in language comprehension and expression

Broca’s area-located in the frontal lobe involved in the motor ability of producing speech

occipital lobe-receives information from the eyes

frontal lobe-involves in speaking and muscle movement and in making plans and judgments

parietal lobe- contains the sensory cortex

temporal lobe-contains the auditory areas which receives information from the ears

hippocampus-involves with memory and spatial navigation

hypothalamus-regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature, and arousal, also controls the endocrine system

thalamus-routes incoming messages to appropriate areas and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

spinal cord-spreads messages throughout the body

parasympathetic nervous system-division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving the energy

sympathetic nervous system-division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

association areas-involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, and abstract thinking

All or none principle-either a neuron fires or it does not fire at all

 

PET-(positron emission tomography)-scan measures the levels of activity of different areas of the brain by tracing their consumption of a radioactive form of glucose the brain's fuel.

CAT- (computerized axial tomography) special X-ray tests that produce cross-sectional images of the body using X-rays and a computer

EEG-(electroencephalogram)-is an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity of the brain.

MRI-(magnetic resonance imaging)- uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that show brain structures more clearly.

 

Endocrine system-is a collection of glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neurotransmitters

Serotonin-transmits nerve impulses and is involved with depression,

ACH-responsible for the stimulation of muscles

Dopamine-controls reward and pleasure center and regulates emotions and responses

Endorphins-opiate like transmitters that halt pain and control pleasure,

Glutamate-responsible for safeguarding and developing memory.

GABA-responsible for preventing anxiety, acts as a relaxant.

 

Accommodation-changing an existing schema to adapt to new information.

Assimilation-incorporating new experiences into existing schemas.

Schema-the ways we interpret the world around us.

Hormones-signaling molecules that target distant organs to regulate physiology and behavior.

Primary sex characteristics-body structures that make reproduction possible.

 

Stages of death and dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

1.Denial

2.Anger

3.Bargaining

4.Depression

5.Acceptance

 

Critical period-a period during someone's development in which a particular skill or characteristic is believed to be most readily acquired.

 

Styles of parenting

authoritarian-strict standard for children's behavior

authoritative-reasonable standard of expectations, and encourage independence.

permissive-allows freedom, lax parenting, don't enforce rules consistently.

 

 

Rooting vs. grasping reflex

Rooting-when an infant is touched on its cheek it will turn i's head in that direction.

Grasping- if an object is placed in a baby's palm it will try to grasp it with its fingers.

 

Crystallized vs. fluid intelligence

Crystallized-grows with age and is based on experiences

Fluid-covers abstract thinking and problem solving and recognizing patterns

 

Conservation-stage in children from 4-5, their preoperational stage.

Social Psychology- the study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Social Thinking- How do we think about one another?

Attribution theory
.The idea that we give a casual; explanation for someone's behavior.
. We credit that behavior to the situation or to the person's disposition.

Fundamental Attribution error. the tendency to underestimate the impact of a situation and overestimate the impact of a person's disposition.

Attitudes
.. A belief or feeling that predisposes one to respond in a particular way to something.
Attitudes guide actions
. external pressure is minimal
. we are aware of our own attitudes
. the attitude is relevant to the behavior

Foot-in-the-door-phenomenon
.the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply lager with a larger request

Door-in-face-phenomenon
.the tendency for people who say no to a huge request, to comply with a smaller one.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory
.we do not like when we have either conflicting attitudes or when our attitudes do not match out attitudes
. when they clash, we will change our attitude to create balance

Social influence
Conformity-adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Conditions that strengthen conformity
. one is made to feel incompetent
. the group is at least three people
. the group is unanimous
. one admires the group's status
. one had made no prior commitment
. the person is observed

Reasons for conforming
Normative social influence- influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disappointment
Informational social influence- influence resulting from one's willingness to accept other's opinions about reality,

Social facilitation
. improved performance of tasks in the presence of others
. occurs with simple or learned tasks.
Not with tasks that are difficult that ate difficult or not yet mastered

Yerkes Dodson Law
. there is an optimal level of arousal for the best performance of any task
. easy tasks-relatively high
difficult tasks-low arousal
other tasks-moderate level.

Social loafing-the tendency for people in a group to exhort less effort when pooling efforts toward a common goal than if they were individually accountable.
DEindividuation-the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Group polarization
. the concept that a group's attitude is one of extremes and rarely moderate
. as a group, both the Black Panthers and the Ku Klux Klan are more extreme than the average individual in the group.

Groupthink-the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides common sense.

Self fulfilling prophecies-occurs when one person's belief about others leads one to act in ways that induce the others to appear to conform to the belief.

Social relations
Prejudice-unjustifiable attitude towards a group of people
Stereotype-generalized belief about a group of people

Social inequalities
.in-group:"us"-people with whom shows a common identity
.out-group: "them"- those perceived as different than's one in-group
.in-group bias: the tendency to favor one's own group

Scapegoat theory-blaming someone else for actions

Aggression-any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

Biology of Aggression-genetics, neural influences, biochemical

The psychology of aggression
Frustration-aggressive principle: the blocking of an attempt to achieve same goal, creates anger which generates aggression

Conflict-social trap of prisoner's dilemma
. a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas
. situation when people must choose between an act that is beneficial to themselves but harmful to others that is moderately beneficial to all.

Attraction
proximity-mere-exposure effect: repeated exposure to something breeds liking
reciprocal liking-you are more likely to like someone who likes you
Similarity-Pauls Abdol was wrong opposites DO NOT attract
liking through association
.physical attractiveness

Love

passionate love: an aroused state of intense positive absorption of another
Compassionate love- the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined, equity and self-disclosure.

Altruism-unselfish regard for the welfare of others
Bystander effect (bystanders less willing to help if there are other bystanders around)
Kitty Genovese case

Social exchange theory- the idea that our social behavior is an exchange process, which we maximize benefits and minimize costs

Peacemaking-give people superordinate(shared goals) that only can be achieved through cooperation.

 

Motivation and Emotion

Motivation- a psychological process that directs and maintains your behavior towards a goal

Motives- are the needs, ants, interests, and desires that propel or drive people in certain directions

Instinct theory- we are motivated by an inborn automated behaviors, instincts only explain small fraction of our behaviors.

Biological motives: hunger, thirst, sex, sleep.
social motives : achievement, order, play, autonomy, affiliation

Drive theory-Biological internal motivation(homeostasis)
Incentive theory-Environmental motivation(not as much as homeostasis, more outside factors.)

Drive Reduction theory- when individuals experience a need or drive, they're motivated to reduce that need or drive, therefore, drive theories  believe that the source of motivation lies within the person ( not from the environment), drive theories assume that people are trying to reduce internal tension.

Biological basis of hunger-hunger dies bit come from our stomach it comes from the hypothalamus

Motivation-hunger
.glucose-the form of sugar that circulates in the blood
.provides the major source of energy for body tissue
.glucose low=hunger
.glucose high= feel full

Body chemistry
. glucose
.the hormone insulin converts glucose to fat

Lateral hypothalamus
.when stimulated makes you hungry
.when destroyed you will never be hungry again

Ventromedial hypothalamus
. when stimulated you feel full
.when destroyed you will never feel full again

Hunger-Environmental factors
There are several environmental factors that effect our hunger
1.availibilty of food
2. Learned preference and habits.
3. Stress

Set point theory
. the hypothalamus acts like a thermostat
. wants to maintain a stable weight
, activates the lateral while you diet and activates the ventromedial when you start to gain weight.

Eating disorders
.Bulimia Nervosa- characterized by binging and purging
.Anorexia Nervosa- starve themselves to below 85% of their natural body weight, see themselves s fat, vast majority are women.
Obesity- severely overweight to the point where it causes health issues, mostly wanting habits but some people are predisposed towards obesity.

Intrinsic motivators-rewards we get internally such as enjoyment or satisfaction

Extreme motivators-=reward that we get from accomplishment from outside ourselves, we're great in the short run.

Over justification effect- promising a reward for doing something you like to do results in you seeking the reward as motivation for the task., this tends to diminish the intrinsic motivation to do something.

Management theory

Theory x- managers believe that employees will work only if rewarded with benefits or threatened with punishment, thinks employees are extensively motivated, only interested in Maslow's lower needs.

Theory Y
. manager believe that employees are intrinsically motivated to do good and passion should emerge in the individual's motive, interested in Maslow's higher needs.

Social conflict situations
!. Approach approach-2 positive outcomes( can only pick one)
2. Avoidance-avoidance-2 negative outcomes ( can only pick  one)
3. Approach-Avoidance( both options have positive and negative outcomes)
4. Multiple approach avoidance( multiple choices, multiple outcomes)

Hypothesis-explains the relationship between two variables

Independent variable-whatever is being manipulated
Dependent variable-whatever is being measured in the experiment

Operational definitions- explain what you mean in your hypothesis, how will the variables be measured in "real life" terms

Sampling- identify  the population you want to study, the sample must be representative of the population you want to study

Experimental method- looking to prove casual relationships, cause=effect
Beware of confounding variables-A confounding variable is anything that could cause a change in B that is not A.

Hawthorne effect-just the fact that you know you are in an experiment can cause change.

Correlational method-expresses a relationship between two variables, does not show causation.

Survey method- most common type of study in psychology, measures correlation, cheap and fast, good random sample, low response rate.

Naturalistic Observation-watch subjects in their natural environment, do not manipulate the environment.



Correlation coefficient- a number that measures the strength of a relationship, range from +1 to -1, the relationship gets weaker the closer you get to zero.

Case studies-a detailed picture of one or a few subjects, tells us a great story, does not give us correlation data.

Mean- average the results
Median-subtract the lowest from the highest
Mode-occurs the most in a set of data




Single blind- the subject does not know of the experiment being conducted.
Double-blind- the subject and the researcher do not know of the study being conduced.



Longitudinal- observing a study of the course of years
Cross-sectional- looking over a variety of groups

Psychological Disorders- a harmful dysfunction in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable.

Trephining- attempt to be rid of evil spirits through the drilling of holes through one's head.

DSMIV

• Diagnostic statistical manual of mental disorders, the big book of disorders
• DSM will classify disorders and describe the symptoms
• DSM will NOT explain the causes or possible cures

Two major classifications in the DSM

Neurotic disorders-distressing but can still function in society and act normally.

Psychotic disorders-person loses contact with reality, distorted perceptions.

I. Anxiety Disorders- a group of conditions when the primary symptoms are anxiety or defense against anxiety. The patient fears something awful will happen to them. They bare in a state of intense apprehension, uneasiness, uncertainty, or fear.

Phobias- a person experiencing sudden episodes of intense dread.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-person is continuously tense, apprehensive, in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal. The patient is constantly tense and worried, feels inadequate, is oversensitive, can't concentrate and suffers from insomnia.

Panic disorder- minute long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences tension and accompying chest pain. choking, and other frightening situations.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder- persisted unwanted thoughts ( obsessions) cause someone to need (compulsion) to engage in a particular action.

Post-traumatic stress disorder- flashbacks or nightmares following a person's involvement in an observation of an extremely stressful event. Memories of the event cause anxiety.

II. Somatoform Disorders- occur when a person manifests a psychological problem through a physiological symptom.

Hypochondria- has frequent physical complaints for which medical doctors are unable to locate the cause.

Conversion Disorder- report the existence of severe physical problems with no biological reason.


III. Dissociative Disorders-these orders are a disruption in the conscious process

Psychogenic Amnesia- a person cannot remember things with no physiological basis for the disruption in memory.

Dissociative Fugue- people with psychogenic amnesia find themselves in an unfamiliar environment

Dissociative Identity Disorder-used to be known as multiple personality disorder, a  person has several rather than on integrated personality, people with DID commonly have a history of childhood abuse or trauma.

IV. Mood Disorders- experience extreme or inappropriate emotion

Major Depression- unhappy for at least two weeks with no apparent cause, depression is the common cold of physiological disorders.

Dysthymic Disorder- suffering from mild depression everyday for at least two years.

Seasonal Affective Disorder- Experience depression during the winter months, based not on temperature, but on amount of sunlight.

Bipolar Disorder- Formally manic depression, involves periods of depression and manic episodes, manic episodes involve feelings of high energy.

V. Personality disorders- well-established maladaptive ways of behaving that negatively affect people's ability to function, dominates their personality.

Antisocial personality disorder-lack of empathy, little regard for other's feelings, view the world as hostile and look out for themselves.

Dependent Personality Disorder- rely too much on the attention and help of others.

Histrionic Personality Disorder-needs to be the center of attention, whether acting silly or dressing provocatively.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder- having an unwarranted sense of self-importance, thinking that you are the center of the universe.

VI. Schizophrenic Disorders (1 in ever 100 persons are diagnosed with schizophrenia)

• Disorganized thinking-fragmented and bizarre and distorted with false beliefs,. Breakdown in selective attention, they cannot filter out information.
• Delusions(false beliefs)- delusions of persecution of grandeur
• disturbed perceptions- hallucinations- sensory experiences without sensory stimulation
• inappropriate emotions and actions- laugh at inappropriate times; senseless, compulsive acts; flat effect- a reduction in emotion; catatonia-motionless, waxy flexibility.

Positive vs. negative emotions
Positive- presences of inappropriate symptoms
Negative-absence of appropriate symptoms

Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized-disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion.
Paranoid- preoccupation with delusions or hallucination, somebody is out to get me!
Catatonic- parrot like repeating of another's speech and movement.
Undifferentiated many and varied symptoms.

Goals of Psychology

1. Observe
2. Predict
3. Explain
4. Describe
5. Control