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TEST #1 STUDY GUIDE
I. Basic learning concepts and classical conditioning
A. What is learning
i. Process of acquiring through experience new information or behaviors
B. How do we learn
i. Though association: certain events occur together
(classical condition); stimuli that are not control are
associated and response is automatic
ii. Through consequences
1. Association between a response and consequences is
learned (operant conditioning)
2. Through acquisition of mental information that
guides behaviors. Cognitive learning
II. Classical conditioning If you want to learn more check out finite math study guide
A. Pavlov
i. Studied digestive system; first Russian Nobel prize
ii. Demonstrated associative learning via salivary conditioning 1. Tube in dog’s cheek collects saliva, which is
measured in cylinder outside of the chamber
iii. Consensus among psychologists that classical conditioning is basic learning form
1. Classical condition is basic learning form of learning
that applies to all species
2. Pavlov demonstrated a learning process can be
studied objectively
iv. Pavlov’s principles are used to influence human health and well being
1. Areas of consciousness, motivation, emotion, health,
psychological disorders, therapy
2. Addicts counseled to avoid stimuli that trigger
cravings
3. Pairing particular taste with drug that influences
immune responses may lead to response from taste
alone
v. Applications of Classical Conditioning We also discuss several other topics like ids uf
1. Pavlov’s work provided a basis for Watson’s ideas
that human emotions and behaviors, though
biologically influenced, are mainly conditioned
responses.
2. Watson applied classical conditioning principles in his
studies of “Little Albert” to demonstrate how specific Don't forget about the age old question of hdfs csu
fears might be conditioned.
III. Operant Conditioning
A. Cat in a puzzle box would be rewarded with a fish when they found their way out of box
i. Behavior operated on the environment to produce
rewarding or punishing stimuli
ii. Organisms associate their own actions with consequences iii. Actions followed by reinforcement increase; those followed by punishments often decrease
B. Skinner and Skinners experiments
i. Skinner
1. Expanded on Thorndike’s law of effect
2. Developed behavioral technology and principles of
behavior control
3. Designed and used the skinner box for experiments
and recorded responses
C. Everyday behaviors are continually reinforced and shaped i. Reinforcement
1. Any event that strengthens a preceding response
ii. Shaping
1. Gradually guiding toward closer and closer
approximations of the desired behavior
D. Types of Reinforcers
i. Positive reinforcement
1. Increases behaviors by presenting positive
reinforcers
ii. Positive reinforcer
1. Is any stimulus that, when presented after a
response, strengthens the response
iii. Negative reinforcement
1. Increases behaviors by stopping or reducing negative Don't forget about the age old question of cs 31 ucla
If you want to learn more check out midterm adjustment ato
stimuli
2. Any stimulus that, when removed after a response,
strengthens the response
iv. Primary
1. Unlearned; innately reinforcing stimuli
v. Conditioned (secondary)
1. Gains power through association with primary
reinforcers
vi. Immediate
1. Occurs immediately after a behavior
vii. Delayed
1. Involves time delay between desired response of and
delivery of reward
E. Reinforcement schedules
i. Reinforcement schedule
1. Includes pattern that defines how often a desired
response will be reinforced
ii. Continuous reinforcement schedule
1. Involves reinforcing the desired response every time
it occurs
iii. Partial (intermittent) reinforcement
1. Includes schedule reinforcing a response only part of
the time; results in slower acquisition of a response
but much grater resistance to extinction that does
continuous reinforcement
F. Punishment
i. Administers an undesirable consequence or withdraws something desirable in an attempt to decrease the If you want to learn more check out stat 380 unl
frequency of a behavior
ii. Positive punishment
1. Presenting a negative consequence after an
undesired behavior is exhibited, making the behavior
less likely to happen in the future
iii. Negative punishment
1. Removing a desired stimulus after particular
undesired behavior is exhibited, resulting in reducing
behavior in future
IV. Skinner’s legacy: applications of operant conditioning A. At school: computer and adaptive learning software used in teaching and learning
B. In sports: behavioral methods implemented in shaping in shaping behavior in athletic performance
C. At work: rewards successfully used to increase productivity D. At home: basic rules of shaping used in parenting
V. Biological constraints on conditioning
A. Limits on classical conditioning
i. Garcia and koelling’s taste-aversion research
ii. Animals and humans seem biologically prepared to learn some associations rather than others
iii. Conditioning is stronger when the CS is ecologically
relevant
iv. Genetic predisposition to associate CS with a US that
follows predictably and immediately is adaptive
B. Limits on operant conditioning
i. Nature limits species’ capacity for operant conditioning ii. Biological constraints predispose organisms to learn
associations that are naturally adaptive
iii. Instinctive drift occurs as animals revert to biologically predisposed patterns
VI. Cognition processes and classical conditioning
A. Mental information that guides behavior is acquired through cognitive learning
i. Animal learning of predictability of event
ii. British children conditioning of ice-cream associated
characters
iii. Adult gut-level liking for characters associated with positive stimuli
iv. Stronger likes and dislikes when notice and awareness of association learned
VII. Mirrors and imitations in the brain
A. Mirror neurons
i. Include frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing
another doing so
B. Brains mirroring of another’s action
i. May enable imitation and empathy
VIII. Applications of observational learning
A. Pro social effects
i. Behavior modeling enhances learning of communication, sales, and customer service skills in new employees
ii. Modeling nonviolent behavior prompts similar behavior in others
iii. Across seven countries, viewing prosocial media increased later healing behavior
iv. Socially responsive toddlers tend to have internalized
conscience as preschoolers
B. Antisocial effects
i. Abusive parents may have aggressive children
ii. Watching TV and videos may teach children
1. Bullying is effective tool for controlling others
2. Free and easy sex has little later consequences
3. Men should be tough; women should be gentle
iii. Violence-viewing effect
IX. Brain states and consciousness
i. Consciousness
1. Awareness of self and environment
ii. Inattentional blindness
1. Failure to see visible objects when our attention is
directed elsewhere
X. The biology of consciousness
A. Cognitive neuroscientists
i. Explore and map conscious cortex function and can
sometimes “read” minds
ii. Suggest consciousness arises from synchronized brain activity
XI. Dual Processing: The two track mine
A. Dual Processing
i. Principle that information is often simultaneously
processed on separate conscious (explicit) and
unconscious (implicit) tracks
ii. Perceptions, memory, attitudes, and other cognitions are affected
B. Blind sight awareness
i. Condition in which a person can respond to a visual
stimulus without consciously experiencing it
ii. When the Blind can “see”
1. In this compelling demonstration of blind sight and
the two-track mind, researcher Lawrence weiskrantz
trailed a blind-sight patient down a cluttered hallway
2. Although told the hallway was empty, the patient
meandered around all the obstacles without any
awareness of them
C. Consciousness and selective attention
i. Selective attention
1. Focusing conscious awareness on a particular
stimulus
ii. Parallel Processing
1. Processing many aspects of a problem
simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of
information processing for many functions
iii. Inattentional Blindness
1. Failing to see visible objects when attention is
directed elsewhere
D. Selective attention and accidents
i. Rapid toggling between activities is common
ii. Multitasking distracts brain resources allocated to driving; brain activity decreases average of 37 percent when
conversation occurs
1. Cell-phone use increases accident risk fourfold
2. Crashes or near-crashes increase sevenfold when
dialing or reaching for phone
XII. Sleep
A. Periodic, natural loss of consciousness- as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation
B. Biological rythms
i. 24-hour biological clock
ii. 90 minute sleep cycle for younger adults
C. Circadian rhythm
i. internal biological clock of 24-hour cycle of day and night ii. as morning approaches, body temperature rises, peaks during day, dips in early afternoon, and begins to drop in evening
iii. Altered by age and experience
D. Measuring sleep activity
i. Sleep researchers measure brain-wave activity, eye movements, and muscle tension by electrodes that pick up weak electrical signals from the brain, eyes, and facial muscles
E. Brain waves and sleep stages
i. Beta waves of an alert, waking state and the regular alpha waves of an awake, relaxed state differ from the slower, larger delta waves of deep NREM-3 sleep
ii. Although the rapid REM sleep waves resemble the near waking NREM-1 sleep waves, the body is mpre aroused during REM sleep than during NREM sleep
F. Sleep and dreams
i. REM (rapid eye movement)
1. Sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur
ii. REM rebound
1. Tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
iii. Alpha waves
1. Relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state iv. Hallucination
1. False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
v. Delta Waves
1. Large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep G. Sleep patterns are genetically and culturally influenced i. Bright morning light activates light-sensitive proteins that trigger suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) to cause decreased production of melatonin in morning and increased
production in the evening
ii. Social jet lag may occur when sleep routines are disrupted during weekends
H. Why do we sleep?
i. Sleep may have played a protective role in human
evolution by keeping people safe during potentially
dangerous periods
ii. Sleep also helps restore and repair damaged neurons
iii. REM and NREM-2 sleep help strengthen neural connections that build enduring memories
iv. Sleep promotes creative problem solving the next day
v. During deep sleep, the pituitary gland secretes a growth hormone necessary for muscle development
I. Sleep Deprivation
i. Causes fatigue and irritability
ii. Impairs concentration, productivity, and memory
consolidation
iii. Can also lead to depression, obesity, joint pain, a
suppressed immune system, and slowed performance with a greater vulnerability to accidents
J. Insomia
i. Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
K. Narcolepsy
i. Sudden uncontrollable sleep attacks, sometimes lapsing directly into REM sleep
L. Sleep apnea
i. Stopping of breathing while asleep; associated with
obesity, especially in men
M. Night terrors
i. High arousal and appearance of being terrified
XIII. Dreams
A. Genitals aroused during REM sleep, even when dream content is not sexual
B. Brainstem blocks messages from motor complex
i. Sleep paralysis
ii. Paradoxical sleep
C. What do we dream
i. We usually dram of ordinary events and everyday
experiences, most involving some anxiety or misfortune
1. Daydreams: familiar details of our life
2. REM dreams: vivid, emotional, bizarre
3. Dreams with negative event or emotion: 8 in 10
dreams
4. Dreams with sexual imagery: 1 in 10 young men and
1 and 3o among young women
5. Drams incorporating pervious days’ experience: most
common
D. Why We dream
i. There are five major views of the function of dreams.
ii. (1) Freud’s wish-fulfillment: Dreams provide a psychic
“safety valve,” with manifest content (story line) acting as a censored version of latent content (underlying meaning
that gratifies our unconscious wishes).
iii. (2) Information-processing: Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate them in memory.
iv. (3) Physiological function: Regular brain stimulation may help develop and preserve neural pathways in the brain.
v. (4) Neural activation: The brain attempts to make sense of neural static by weaving it into a story line.
vi. (5) Cognitive development: Dreams reflect the dreamer’s level of development.
XIV. Tolerance and Addiction
A. Tolerance
i. With repeated use, the desired effect requires larger doses B. Addiction
i. Compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors (such as gambling) despite known harmful consequences
C. Withdrawal
i. Discomfit and distress that follow discontinuing an
addictive drug or behavior
D. Those with a substance use disorder may exhibit impaired control, social disruption, risky behavior, and the physical effects of tolerance and withdrawal
E. Psychoactive drugs alter perceptions and moods
i. They may produce tolerance
1. Requiring larger doses to achieve the desired effect
and--- and withdrawal----significant discomfort
accompanying attempts to quit
ii. Continued use may lead to addiction, which is the
compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors (such as
gambling) despite known adverse consequences
F. How has the concept of addiction changed?
i. Concept of addiction
1. Extended to cover many behaviors
2. Degree and scope debated
ii. Addiction as disease needing treatment
1. Offered for many driven, excessive behaviors that
become compulsive and dysfunctional
iii. Psychologists debate whether the concept of addiction has been stretched too far and whether the addiction are really as irresistible as believed.
1. The addiction-as-disease-needing-treatment idea has been extended to a host of excessive, driven
behaviors, but labeling a behavior doesn’t explain it. The concept of addiction continues to evolve, as
psychiatry’s manual of disorders now includes
behavior addictions such as “gambling disorder” and proposes, “Internet gaming disorder” for further
study.
G. Types of psychoactive drugs
i. Depressants
1. Drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates (tranquilizers), and opiates that calm neutral activity and slow body functions
ii. Alcohol acts as disinhibitor
1. Slows neural processing and potent sedative when paired with sleep deprivation
2. Disrupts memory and has long-term effect on brain and cognition; impairs growth of synaptic
connections
3. Reduces self-awareness and self-control; produces myopia by focusing on arousing situation at expense of normal inhibitions and future consequence
iii. MRI scans show brain shrinkage in women with alcohol use disorder compared with women in control group (LOOK AT SLIDE 33)
H. Alcohol expectancy effects
i. Expectations influence behavior
1. Attribution social behaviors or sexual responses to alcohol releases inhibitions
2. Fourteen intervention studies with college students lowered positive expectations of alcohol and reduced drinking in the ensuing month
ii. Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism)
1. Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use
I. Depressants
i. Barbiturates
1. Depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and
judgment
2. Can impair memory and judgment; potentially lethal when combined with alcohol
3. Nembutal, seconal, and amytal
ii. Opiates
1. Include opium and its deriatives, such as codeine, morphine and heroin; addictive
2. Constricts pupils, slow breathing, causes lethargy 3. Depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety
4. Causes withdrawal when ingestion is stopped
J. Stimulant drugs
i. Includes caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA), and
methamphetamine that excite neural activity and speed up body functions
ii. Involved dilation of pupils, increase in heart and breathing rates, rise in blood sugar, and drop in appetite
iii. Often involves increase in energy and self-confidence K. Nicotine
i. Is the stimulating and highly addictive drug in tobacco? ii. Signals the central nervous system to release a flood of neurotransmitters
iii. Diminishes appetite, boosts alertness and mental efficiency, calms anxiety, and reduces sensitivity to pain iv. Involved challenging acute craving and withdrawal symptoms which contribute to relapse
v. Where there’s smoke… The physiological effects of nicotine 1. Nicotine reaches brain within 7 seconds, twice as fast as intravenous heroin
2. Within minutes, the amount in the blood soars
L. Cocaine
i. Produces quick rush of euphoria
ii. Involves crash of agitated depression within 15 to 30 minutes after neurotransmitters drop
iii. Produces psychological effects depending on dosage and form consumed and user’s expectations and personality M. Methamphetamine
i. Produces effets depending on dosage and form consumed and user’s expectations and personality
ii. Powerfully addictive
N. Ecstasy (MDMA)
i. A synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen
ii. Produces euphoria, but with short term health risks and
longer term harm to mood and cognition
XV. Hallucinogens
A. Distorts perceptions and calls up sensory images without any input from the senses
B. LSD
i. Powerful hallucigenic drug, also known as acid (lysergic
acid diethylamide)
ii. Interferes with serotonin neurotransmitter system
C. Marijuana and synthetic marijuana (K2 and Spice)
i. Contains THC and produces mix of effects
ii. Relaxes, disinhibits, and may produce euphoria
iii. Is mild hallucinogen which amplifies sensory sensitivity, impairs motor coordination, perceptual skills, and reaction
time
iv. Disrupts memory formation and immediate recall
v. Impairs brain development with prenatal exposure
vi. Can linger in body for weeks
XVI. Marijuana
A. Has leaves containing THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) which are smoked or eaten to produce increase sensitivity to colors, sounds, tastes, and smells; lingers in body longer
B. Can also relax, disinhibit, impair motor and perceptual skills and reaction time
XVII. Drug Prevention and Treatment programs
A. Educate young people about the long term costs of a drug’s temporary pleasures
B. Help people find other ways to boost their self-esteem and purpose in life
C. Attempt to modify peer associations or to “inoculate” youths against peer pressures by training them in refusal skills
XVIII. Neural Communication
A. Biological psychology
Peripheral
Autonomic (controls
Nervous
system
Skeletal (controls
Central
(brain and spinal cord)
i. Branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior
ii. Some biological psychologists call themselves 1. Behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists,
self-regulated action of internal organs and glands)
Sympathetic
(arousing)
voluntary movements of skeletal muscles)
Parasympathetic
(calming)
behavior geneticists, psychological psychologists, or bio psychologists
B. Nervous system
i. The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system consists of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
C. Central nervous system (CNS)
i. The brain and spinal cord
1. Interconnected neurons form network in the brain 2. These networks are complex and modify with growth and experience
D. Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
i. The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body
1. Somatic nervous system
a. The division of the peripheral nervous system
that controls the body’s skeletal muscles
i. Division of the autonomic nervous
system that arouses the body, mobilizing
its energy in stressful situations
2. Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
a. Part of the PNS that controls the glands and
other muscles
i. The part of the peripheral nervous
system that controls the glands and the
muscles of the internal organs (such as
the heart)
3. Parasympathic nervous system
a. Division of the autonomic nervous system that
calms the body, conserving its energy
4. Sympathetic NS “arouses” (fight or flight)
5. Parasympathetic NS “calms” (rest and digest)
E. Afferent and efferent pathways
F. Endocrine system
i. Is the body’s “slow” chemical communication system ii. Communication is carried out by hormones synthesized by a set of glands
G. Hormones
i. Chemicals synthesized by the endocrine glands that are secreted in the bloodstream. Hormones affect the brain and many other tissues of the body
1. Ex. Epinephrine (adrenaline) increases heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and feelings of
excitement during emergency situations
H. Pituitary gland
i. The master gland
1. The anterior pituitary lobe releases hormones that
regulate other glands
2. The posterior lobe regulates water and salt balance
I. Thyroid and parathyroid
i. Regulate metabolic and calcium rate
ii. Thyroid
1. Affects metabolism
iii. Parathyroids
1. Help regulate the level of calcium in the blood
J. Adrenal glands
i. Adrenal glands conist of the adrenal medulla and the
cortex. The medulla secretes hormones (epinephrine and
norepinephrine) during stressful and emotional situations, while the adrenal cortex regulates salt and carbohydrate
metabolism
K. Gonads
i. Sex glands are located in different places in men and
women. They regulate bodily development and maintain
reproductive organs in adults
1. Testis
a. Secretes male hormones
2. Ovary
a. Secretes female sex hormones
XIX. The Brain
A. Older brain structures
i. Brainstem
1. Oldest part of the brain, beginning where the spinal
cord swells and enters the brain
a. Responsible for automatic survival functions
ii. Medulla
1. The base of the brainstem and controls heart and
breathing
iii. Thalamus
1. The brain’s sensory switchboard, located on top of
the brainstem
a. Directs messages to the sensory areas in the
cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum
and medulla
iv. Reticular formation
1. Nerve network in the brainstem that plays an
important role in controlling arousal
v. Cerebellum
1. “little brain” attached to the rear of the brainstem
a. helps coordinate and voluntary movements
and balance
B. The brain lesion experimentally destroys brain tissue to study animal behaviors after such destruction
C. Limbic system
i. A doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebrum associated with emotions such as fear
1. Aggression and drives fro food and sex
2. it includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and
hypothalamus
D. Amygdala
i. Consists of two lima bean sized neural clusters linked to the emotions of fear and anger
E. Hypothalamus
i. Lies below the thalamus
ii. Directs several maintenance activities like eating, drinking, body temperature, and control of emotions
iii. Helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland F. The cerebral cortex
i. Intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres
ii. It is the body’s ultimate control and information processing center
1. Each brain hemisphere is divided into four lobes that are separated by prominent fissures
a. Frontal lobe (forehead)
b. Parietal lobe(top to rear head)
c. Occipital lobe (back head)
d. Temporal lobe (side of head)
iii. Motor complex
1. The area at the rear of the frontal lobes that control voluntary movements
iv. Sensory cortex
1. (parietal cortex) receives information from skin
surface and sense organs
v. Reward Center Experiment
1. Rats crossed an electrified grid fro self-stimulation when electrodes were placed in the reward
(hypothalamus) center
2. When the limbic system is manipulated, a rat will navigate fields or climb up a tree
vi. Association areas
1. More intelligent animals have increased
“uncommitted” or association areas of the cortex
vii. Neural communication
1. Neurobiologists and other investigators understand that humans and animals operate similarly when
processing information
a. Note the similarities in the above brain regions
with are all engaged in
information processing
viii.
Language
1. Aphasia is an impairment
of language, usually caused by left hemisphere
damage either to Broca’s area (impaired speaking) or to wernicke’s area (impaired understanding)
ix. Specialization and Integration
1. Brain activity when hearing, seeing, and speaking words
x. Brains plasticity
1. Brain is sculpted by our genes but also by our
experiences
2. Plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to modify itself after some types of injury or illness
G. Cell types in the Nervous system
i. Neurons
1. Basic unity of the nervous system
2. Three main parts: dendrite, soma (body), axon
ii. Glia
1. “caretaker” cells (nutrients, waste, repair)
a. nutritive function
b. clear debirs
c. cellular repair
2. myelin sheath
H. The nervous system
i. Nerves
1. PNS neural “cables” containing many axons
2. Connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs
ii. Neurons
1. A nerve cell, consists of several parts
a. Cell body
i. Life support of the neuron
b. Dendrites
i. Branching extensions at the cell body.
Receive messages from other neurons
c. Axon
i. Long single extension of a neuron,
covered with MYELIN SHEATH
1. Insulate and speed up messages
through neurons
d. Terminal branches of axon
i. Branched endings of an axon that
transmit messages to other neurons
iii. Sensory neurons
1. Carry incoming info from the body to the CNS iv. Interneurons
1. CNS neurons that internally communicate and intervene between sensory inputs and motor outputs 2. Connect the sensory neurons and motor neurons v. Motor neurons
1. Carry outgoing info from the CNS to muscles and glands
vi. Action potential
1. A neural impulse
a. A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon and is generated by the movement of
positively charged atoms in and out of
channels in the axon’s membrane
2. Properties
a. All-or-none response
i. A strong stimulus can trigger more
neurons to fire and to fire more often but
it does not affect the potential strength
or speed
b. Intensity
i. An action potential remains the same
through out the length of the axon
vii. Synapse
1. A junction between the axon tip of the sending
neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron
a. This tiny gap is called the synaptic gap or cleft
viii. Threshold
1. Each neuron receives excitatory and inhibitory
signals from many neurons
2. When the excitatory signals minus the inhibitory signals exceed a minimum intensity (threshold) the neuron fired an action potential
ix. Neurotransmitters
1. Released from the sending neuron travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing it to generate an action potential
x. Reuptake
1. Neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the sending neurons though the process of reuptake. This process applies the brakes on neurotransmitter action
xi. Serotonin pathways are involved with mood regulation xii. Dopamine pathways are involved with diseases such as schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease
I. Lock and key mechanism
i. Neurotransmitters bind to the key receptors of the receiving neuron in a key –lock mechanisms
ii. Agonist
1. Mimics neurotransmitters
a. Ex. Morphine mimics the action of endorphins
by stimulating in brain areas in mood and pain
sensation
iii. Antagonists
1. Blocks neurotransmitters
a. Curare poisoning paralyzes its victims by
blocking Ach receptors in muscle movement
J. Electroencephalogram (EEG)
i. An amplified recording of the electrical waves sweeping across the brain’s surface, measured by electrodes placed on the scalp
K. PET scan
i. Position emission tomography scan
1. A visual display of brain activity that detects a
radioactive form of glucose while the brain performs a given task
L. MRI scan
i. Magnetic resonance imaging scan
1. Uses magnetic fields and radio eaves to produce
computer-generated images that distinguish among
different types of brain tissue
2. Shoes the visual cortex is active as subject looks at
faces
3. Shows auditory cortex is active in patients who
hallucinate
XX. The brain
A. Divided into two hemispheres
i. Left is used to process reading, writing, speaking,
mathematics, and comprehension skills
1. Dominant brain
B. Splitting the brain
i. A procedure in which two hemispheres of the brain are
isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of
the corpus callosum) between them
ii. Patients
1. With the corpus callosum severed
a. Objects (apple) presented in the right visual
field can be named but objects on the left
(pencil)
XXI. The need for psychological science
A. Humans cannot rely solely on intuition and common sense B. Three phenomena illustrate this:
i. Hindsight bias
1. Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that
we could have predicted it
2. Also known as the I-Knew it-all-along phenomenon
ii. Judgmental overconfidence
1. People tend to think they know more than they do
2. This occurs in academic and social behavior
iii. Tendency to perceive patterns in random events
1. People perceive patterns to make sense of their
world
2. Even in random, unrelated data people often find
order, because random sequences often do not look
random
3. People trust their intuition more than they should
because intuitive thinking is flawed
C. Why is intuition overused and errors made?
i. Hindsight bias, overconfidence, and our tendency to
perceive patterns in random events often lead us to
overestimate our intuition
ii. But scientific inquiry can help us sift reality from illusion XXII. STOP POTENTIAL TEST QUESTION (answers
A. Functionalism was a school of psychology that focused attention on the:
i. A.adaptive value of thoughts and behaviors
ii. B.component elements of sensory experience
iii. C.disruptive effects of unconscious motives
iv. D.treatment of psychological disorders
B. The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable behavior without reference to mental
processes is known as
i. A.cognitive neuroscience
ii. B.behaviorism
iii. C.humanistic psychology
iv. D.treatment of psychological disorders
C. Cognitive neuroscience studies relationships between
i. A.natural selection and genetic predispositions
ii. B.childhood memories and psychological disorders
iii. C.thought processes and brain functions
iv. D.philosophy and physiology
D. The nature-nurture issue refers to the debate over the relative contributions that ________________________ makes to the
development of psychological traits.
i. A.massed practice and spaced practice
ii. B.unconscious and conscious motives
iii. C.behavior and mental processes
iv. D.genes and experience
E. The survival of organisms best suited to a particular environment is known as
i. A.functionalism
ii. B.natural selection
iii. C.behavior genetics
iv. D.structuralism
XXIII. The scientific attitude
A. Curiosity
i. Includes a passion to explore and understand the world
without misleading influences or being misled
ii. Questions to consider
1. What do you mean
2. How do you know
B. Skepticism
i. Supports questions about behavior and mental processes ii. Draws a line between science and pseudoscience by
demanding testable proofs for claims/theories
iii. Employs critical thinking skills and scientific methods
C. Critical thinking
i. Refers to a more careful style of forming and evaluating
knowledge than simply using intuition
ii. In addition to the scientific method, critical thinking helps develop more effective and accurate ways to figure out
what makes people do think and feel the things they do
D. Humility
i. Involved awareness that mistakes are possible and
willingness to be surprised
XXIV. The scientific method
A. Scientific method is the process of testing ideas about the world by
i. Setting up situations that test our ideas
1. If the data do not fit our ideas, then ideas are
modified and tested again
ii. Making careful, organized observations
iii. Analyzing whether data fit with our ideas
iv. Theory
1. Explanation using an integrated set of principles that
organizes observations and predicts behaviors of
events
v. Hypothesis
1. Testable prediction, often implied by a theory
vi. Operational definition
1. Carefully worded statement of the exact procedures
(operations) used in a research study
vii. Replication
1. Repeating the essence of a research study, usually
with different participants in different situations, to
see whether the basic finding extends to other
participants and circumstances
viii. Testing Hypothesis and Refining theories
ix. Research Strategies
1. Descriptive research
a. A systematic objective observation of people b. The goal is to provide a clear, accurate picture of people’s behaviors, thoughts, and attributes
c. Correlational studies
i. Descriptive technique in which one
person is studied in depth in the hope of
revealing universal principles
ii. Examines one individual in depth
iii. Provides fruitful ideas
iv. Cannot be used to generalize
d. Naturalistic observations
i. Descriptive technique of observing and
recording behavior in naturally occurring
situations without trying to change or
control the situation
ii. Records behavior in natural environment
iii. Describes but does not explain behavior
iv. Can be revealing
e. Surveys & interviews
i. Descriptive technique for obtaining the
self- reported attitudes or behaviors of a
group, usually by questioning a
representative, random sample of that
group
ii. Examines many cases in less depth
1. Wording effect
2. Random sampling
iii. Utilizes random sampling of population
for best results
2. Correlation
a. General definition
i. An observation that two traits or
attributes are related to each other
b. Scientific definition
i. A measure of how closely two factors
vary together, or how well you can
predict a change in one from observing a
change in the other
c. Positive correlation (between 0 and +1.00)
i. Indicates a direct relationship, meaning that two things increase together or
decrease together
d. Negative correlation (between 0 and -1.00) i. Indicates an inverse relationship: as one thing increases the other decreases
e. Correlation coefficient
i. Provides a statistical measure of how
closely two things vary together and how
well one predicts the other
f. Correlations can range from +1.00 (scores on one measure increase in direct proportion to scores on another), to 0.00 (no relationship), to -1.00 (scores on one measure decrease
precisely as scores rise on the other)
3. Regression toward the Mean
a. Illusory correlation
i. Refers to the perception of a relationship between two variables when only a minor
or no relationship actually exists
ii. May be fed by regression toward the
mean
b. Regression toward the Mean
i. Refers to the tendency for extreme or
unusual scores or events to fall back
(regress) toward the average
4. Correlation and Causation
a. No matter how strong the relationship,
correlation does not prove causation
b. Correlation indicates the possibility of a cause effect relationship, but does not prove it
5. Three possible Cause-Effect Relationships 6. Experimentation
a. With experiments, researchers can focus on the possible effect of one or more factors in several ways
i. Manipulating the factors of interest to
determine their effects
ii. Holding constant (“controlling”) other
factors
1. Experimental group and control
group
b. Variables
i. Independent variable in an experiment
1. Factor that is manipulated; the
variable whore effect is being
studied
ii. Confounding variable in an experiment
1. Factor other than the independent
variable that might produce an
effect
iii. Dependent variable in an experiment
1. Factor that is measured; the
variable that may change when the
independent variable is
manipulated
c. Double-Blind Procedure: Eliminating Bias
i. Neither those in the study nor those
collecting the data know which group is
receiving the treatment
ii. Treatment’s actual effects can be
separated from potential placebo effect
iii. Placebo Effect
1. Effect involves results caused by
expectations alone
XXV. Statistical Reasoning In Everyday Life:
A. Describing Data
i. Accurate statistical understanding is important
1. Casual estimates often misread reality and misinform
2. Big, round, undocumented numbers warrant caution
3. Teaching statistical reasoning is needed
4. Presentation of statistical information needs more
transparency
ii. Measures of central tendency include a single score that represents a set of scores
1. Mode
a. Most frequently occurring score(s) in a
distribution
2. Mean
a. Arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained
by adding the scores and then dividing by the
number of scores; can be distorted by few
atypical scores
3. Median
a. Middle score in a distribution; half the scores
are above it and half are below it
iii. Measures of variation reveal similarity or diversity in scores 1. Range
a. Difference between the highest and lowest
scores in a distribution
2. Standard deviation
a. Computed measure of how much scores vary
around the mean score
3. Normal Curve (normal distribution)
a. Symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes
the distribution of many types of data; most
scores fall near the mean (about 68 percent fall
within one standard deviation of it) and fewer
and fewer near the extremes
B. Significant Differences
i. When is an observed difference reliable
1. Representative samples are better than biased
samples
2. Less-variable observations are more reliable than
those that are more variable
3. More cases are better than fewer
ii. Generalizations based on a few unrepresentative cases are unreliable
iii. When is an observed difference significant?
1. When sample averages are reliable and difference
between them is relatively large, the difference has
statistical significance.
2. Observed difference is probably not due to chance
variation between the samples.
3. In psychological research, proof beyond a reasonable
doubt means that the odds of its occurrence by
chance are less than 5 percent.
XXVI. Protecting research participants
A. Studying and protecting animals
i. Is it right to place the well-being of humans above that of other animals
1. Response varies by culture
a. Canada and US about 60% deemed medical
testing on animals as “morally acceptable”
b. Britain only 37%
ii. Professional associations and funding agency guidelines
1. Universities: IRB ethics committees; laboratory
regulation and inspection
2. British Psychological Association (APA): guidelines for
humane treatment and minimization of infection,
illness, and pain
3. European parliament: standards for animal care and
housing
B. Studying and protecting humans
i. Ethics code of APA, Britain’s BPS, university ethics
committee
1. Obtain potential participants informed consent before
the experiment
2. Protect them from harm and discomfit
3. Keep information about individual participants
confidential
4. Fully debrief people (explain the research afterward)
XXVII. What is psychology
A. Psychological science is born
i. First laboratory
1. Aristotle used observation and questioning to
understand the body-psyche relationship
2. Questions were answered through observation and
guesses
3. Willhelm Wundt
a. Defined psychology as “science of mental life”
b. Added two key elements to enhance scientific
nature of psychology
c. Elements include carefully measure
observations and experiments
4. William James
a. Studied human thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors
i. Asked
1. What function might they serve
2. How might they have helped our
ancestors survive
b. Authored principles of psychology
B. Psychological science develops
i. Behaviorism
1. Defined psychology as “scientific study of observable
behavior” without reference to mental processes
2. Became major force in psychology in 1960’s
ii. Proponents
1. John B. Watson
a. Classical conditioning
2. BF Skinner
a. Operant conditioning
3. Dismissed introspection
iii. Freudian psychology
1. Emphasized ways unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to childhood experiences
affect later behavior
2. Major force until 1960s
iv. Humanistic Psychology
1. Revived interest in study of mental processes
2. Focused on ways current environments nurture or limit growth potential and importance of having need for love and acceptance satisfied
3. Led by carl rogers and Abraham maslow
v. Cognitive Revolution
1. Occurred around 1960 and focus returned to interest in mental processes
2. Cognitive psychology (thinking, knowing,
remembering) scientifically explored ways in which information is perceived, processed, and recalled
3. The interdisciplinary field of cognitive neuroscience ties the science of mind (cognitive psychology) and the science of the brain (neuroscience) and focuses on the brain activity underlying mental activity
C. Contemporary psychology
i. Martin Seligman: positive psychology
1. Uses scientific methods to investigate building of good life that engages skill-building and a meaningful life that extends beyond self
ii. the big nature vs. nurture questions
1. to what extent are our traits already set in place at birth (“nature”)?
2. To what extent do our traits develop in response to our environment/experience (“nurture”)
3. Nature
a. Plato: character and intelligence inherited,
some ideas inborn
b. Descartes: Some ideas are intuitive
c. Darwin: Some traits, behaviors, and instincts
are part of species; natural selection
4. Nurture
a. Aristotle: content of mind comes through
senses
b. Locke: mind is blank slate
D. Psychology’s three main levels of analysis
i. Biological influences
1. Genetic predispositions (genetically influenced traits) 2. Genetic mutations
3. Natural selection of adaptive traits and behaviors passed down through generations
4. Genes responding to the enviroment
ii. Psychological influences
1. Learned fears and other learned expectations
2. Emotional responses
3. Cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations iii. Social-cultural influences
1. Presence of others
2. Cultural, societal, and family expectations
3. Peer and other group influences
4. Compelling models (such as in the media)
E. Psychology’s subfields
i. Neuroscience
1. How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
ii. Evolutionary
1. How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes
a. Ex. Biological; cognitive; clinical
iii. Behavior genetics
1. How our genes and our environment influence our individual differences
a. Ex. Biological; developmental; social
iv. Psychodynamic
1. How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
a. Ex. Personality; developmental; legal/forensic
v. Behavioral
1. How we learn observable responses
a. Ex. Clinical; counseling; industrial
organizational
vi. Cognitive
1. How we encode, process, store, and retrieve
information
a. Ex. Cognitive neuroscience; clinical,
counseling; industrial-organizational
vii. Socio-cultural
1. How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
a. Ex. Developmental; social psychology, clinical,
counseling
F. Best learning practices
i. Testing boosts retention of matierl
ii. Actively processing material and retrieving material helps master it
iii. Spaced rehearsal, interspaced with other subjects, is more efficient than cramming
iv. Concept familiarity is not effective enough