Cozolino Chapter 8

Question 1

The heart of psychotherapy

Answer 1

1. the way in which our brains and minds construct reality 2. ability to modify theses constructions to support mental health and well-being

Question 2

People come to therapy b/c

Answer 2

ne or more aspects of their lives are not how they would like them to be
answers to their questions can be found in the hidden layers of neural processing

Question 3

Hidden layers of Neural processing

Answer 3

networks within the brain that construct our reality, guide our experience can shape our identity

Question 4

Reality

Answer 4

construction of the mind which we take to be an external truth

Question 5

Illusion of consciousness

Answer 5

1. conscious awareness comes together at some specific location within our heads and is presented to us on a screen
2. our experience occurs in the present moment and that conscious thought and decision making precede feelings and actions
3. relies on the first two, our thoughts and behaviors are under conscious control

Question 6

Our brains react to internal and external stimuli in ______milliseconds and it takes _____milliseconds for conscious awareness to occur

Answer 6

50, 500

Question 7

Intuition

Answer 7

likely the result of rapid and unconscious processing that can be so surprising to us that it is often attributed to occult knowledge or psychic powers

Question 8

Can hidden layers of neural processing be directly observed?

Answer 8

No.
they can make the same situation a source of pleasure or dread, acceptance or rejection, pride or shame
highlight some aspect of experience while diminishing others
they translate past experience into an anticipated future, converting past trauma into a self-fulfilling prophecy of future suffering

Question 9

Contemporary human brain flaws

Answer 9

carryover of past learning into the present where it may be irrelevant or destructive

Question 10

fundamental attribution error

Answer 10

tendency to explain the behavior of others based on aspects of their character, while explaining our own behaviors as a result of external factors

ie: other flunk b/c they are not smart enough or too lazy to study; we fail b/c the test wasn’t fair or professor wasn’t good

Question 11

blaming the victim

Answer 11

individuals victimized by crime or poverty are believed to have done something to create their misfortune

Question 12

egocentric bias

Answer 12

reflexively believe that anyone who sees the world differently from ourselves is misguided or dull-witted
reflexive and self-evident, maintaining a balanced perspective requires sustained mindful effort

Question 13

belief perseverance

Answer 13

the tendency to attend to facts supportive of existing beliefs while ignoring others

Question 14

hidden layers

Answer 14

are conservative, holding onto thoughts, feelings and behaviors that have been associated with past survival

Question 15

What are defense mechanisms?

Answer 15

distortions of psychodynamic unconscious

are thought to keep thoughts and feelings out of conscious awareness to help us regulate negative emotions

defense mechanisms: may enhance survival by reducing shame, minimizing anxiety, and decreasing awareness of depressing and demoralizing realities

some defenses also support social cooperation and lead us to either overlook or put a positive spin on the bad behavior of family & friends

Question 16

List the defense mechanisms

Answer 16

reaction formation, denial, humor, & intellectualization

Question 17

Projective hypothesis

Answer 17

Reduced external structure: our hidden layers organize the world, make predictions and highlight certain thoughts and feelings while ignoring others

Question 18

Dreams are…

Answer 18

the royal road to the unconscious

Question 19

Do our brains construct or convey reality?

Answer 19

Our brains construct rather than convey reality

Direct contrast to Western belief: brain is seen as a combo of a camera, tape recorder & computer

Question 20

Name an example of the evolution of consciousness

Answer 20

Evolution of consciousness: ice cream example
- hidden layer–>ice cream–>no feelings expressed–> continued to do the same as an adult….hidden layer learned a pattern

Question 21

What central regions are involved in awareness and change?

Answer 21

prefrontal and parietal cortices

Question 22

Where did the Parietal Lobes evolve and what is their function?

Answer 22

Hippocampus; organizes an internal three-dimensional map of the external environment

interconnections with the rest of the cortex allowed for the integration of working visual memory, attentional capacities and bodily awareness necessary for these imaginal abilities

growth of imaginal abilities allowed us to create an increasingly sophisticated inner topography

serves an executive roles in the organization of self-awareness

Question 23

Left Parietal Compromise Results in

Answer 23

Gerstmann syndrome, which includes the following symptoms: right-left confusion, digital agnosia (inability to name the fingers on both hands), agraphia (inability to write), acalculia (inability to calculate)
the symptoms of Gerstmann syndrome are linked through an unitary deficit in spatial orientation of body-sides, fingers and numbers

Question 24

Right Parietal Compromise Results in Deficits of

Answer 24

Mental imagery and movement representations, visual-spatial awareness, visual-spatial problem solving, temporal awareness and temporal order, spatial perception, somatosensory experience, detecting apparent motion, the analysis of sound movement, spatial-temporal abnormalities, contralateral neglect of the body and external space, denial of hemiparalysis and neglect

Question 25

Functions of the Parietal Lobe

Answer 25

Right Hemisphere: analysis of sound movement, general comparison of amounts, attention, self-face recognition

Left Hemisphere: verbal manipulation of numbers, mathematics, multiplication, motor attention

Bilateral Findings: visual-spatial work space, visual-spatial problem solving, visual motion, construction of a sensory-motor representation of the internal world in relation to the body, internal representation of the state of the body, verbal working memory, retrieval from episodic memory, sequence and ordering of information in working memory, controlling attention to salient event and maintaining attention across time, preparation for pointing to an object, grasping, movement of three dimensional objects, processing of abstract knowledge

more left: a sense of “numerosity” defined as non-symbolic approximations of quantities

more right: perspective taking, processing of social information, taking a third-person perspective

Question 26

Function of neural fibers

Answer 26

onnecting the middle portions of these two areas appear to serve a general integrative function of linking right and left hemispheres, limbic, and cortical structures, as well as anterior and posterior regions of the cortex

Question 27

Function of parietal circuits

Answer 27

are also involved in the sustained focus and updating of information in working memory
they give rise to a global work space or central representation allowing for conscious working memory and self-reflection
the network may be primarily responsible for the construction of the experience of self
a properly functioning frontal-parietal network allows for the successful negotiation of our moment-to-moment survival and the ability to turn our attention to inner experience

Question 28

Medial frontal lobes

Answer 28

are inescapable of adequate affect regulation, victims become “stuck” to the environment or “stimulus bound” and unable to override reflexive reactions

Question 29

When constructing a self, quiet moments…

Answer 29

can serve as the grounds for mentalization, creativity and consolidating the self

Question 30

What occurs during the period of quiescence?

Answer 30

ego and one’s sense of self consolidate

because children feel safe and calm in the presence of their parents

Question 31

What activates when we witness others being still?

Answer 31

inferior regions of the right parietal lobe

Question 32

The brain is an organ of

Answer 32

adaptation, a process that continues for as long as we live

Question 33

Which lobes retain a great deal of neural plasticity?

Answer 33

the frontal and parietal lobes

Question 34

Acting____instead of acting_____ provides us with the _____ and _____ space to try new truths

Answer 34

Acting “in”
Acting “out”
Inpterpersonal
Intrapsychic

ie: Sandy therapy example–> her assignment was to remember the future in the present