Exam 2 Flashcards
Consciousness
our subjective awareness of and responsiveness to mental processes (various internal cognitive processes, such as sleeping, dreaming, concentrating, and making decisions) and the environment
Normal waking consciousness
mental state that encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that occur when we are awake and reasonably alert
Altered state of consciousness
mental state that differ noticeably from normal waking consciousness
Ex-sleep/dreams, effects of some drugs, meditation, hypnosis
Changes experienced in altered state of consciousness
perceptual/attentional processes
memory
high-level thought processes
emotions/self-control
Death by alcohol: Sam Spady story
NEVER leave an intoxicated person alone
STAY SOBER to take care of your friends
Legal drinking age is 21
Call 911 if a person has any of the following symptoms
unconscious or semiconscious
breathing less than 8 times per minute or irregular (10 seconds or more between breaths)
cold, clammy, pale, or blush skin
can’t be awakened by pinching, prodding, or shouting
vomiting without waking up
What point was made by the findings using the eye tracker? (invisible gorilla)
people used an eye tracker and they found that people with the eye tracker looked at the gorilla for at least a second and still didn’t notice it; looking is different than seeing
Are there “noticers” and “missers” among us, and to what do these terms refer?
No; it is a matter of a flip of a coin. We know when we notice something but we aren’t aware of the times when we’ve missed something unexpected.
What point was made by the discussion of focusing attention?
We need to be able to filter out the distractions of our world and not let them interfere with the task we are trying to do. The key is when you’re focusing your attention on one aspect of your world, you don’t have an unlimited amount of attention to devote to other things. We only see the things we focus our attention on. We might filter something we might want to notice
selective/directed attention
Dichotic (divided into 2) listening task: procedure, results, and conclusion
“ba” in attended channel
“ta” in unattended channel
Attention can be too narrow/focused or too wide. Needs to be appropriate for the task at hand
Disorders of attention (ex. ADD, ADHD)
ADD- it is like watching a Tv show when someone else has control of the remote and keeps channel surfing while you are trying to follow the plot of the show
Problems with multitasking
can decrease performance, increased errors, sometimes resulting in injuries and even death
Biological rhythms
self-sustained cyclic changes in biological processes
Chronobiology
the branch of biology that scientifically studies biological rhythms and their systems
Circadian rhythm
our adaptation to the 24-hr solar cycle of light and dark; sleep and wakefulness
What controls the circadian rhythm
the human biological clock is the scn
suprachiasmatic nucleus (in the hypothalamus); approx. 15,000 cells
epinephrine
light->alertness
melatonin
darkness->sleepiness
Free running
without day/night cues, body clock typically runs on a slightly different than 24 hr cycle. But the body clock still runs- it is internal
The circadian rhythms role in jet lag and sleep problems
responsible for jet lag and problems associated with working nights and a rotating shift schedule
Chronotherapy
using light and other environment, natural non-drug techniques to reset the circadian clock and treat problems of sleep, jet lag, and depression including seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Aserinsky
discovered REM sleep
Developmental changes in amount of REM sleep
Infants spend a greater proportion of their sleep in REM sleep
Total sleep time decreases as the person ages
Experience less stage 3 NREM “restorative” sleep as age
Brain wave activity
The first stage of REM sleep closely resembles stage 1 of NREM sleep.
Stages 3 and 4 are now combined into just stage 3
Frequency and amplitude
Early sleep- move REM sleep and stages 3 and 4
Later sleep- less stages 3 and 4, Less REM sleep
REM sleep
Rapid Eye Movement
also called paradoxical sleep
muscle relaxation/paralysis
higher heart rate and blood pressure
deep stages of sleep in which the body is essentially paralyzed although the brain appears to be awake
REM rebound
when deprived of REM sleep , next night enter REM sleep earlier and get more of it after being deprived of it
Purpose of sleep
Body restoration- brain tissue is repaired during sleep; sleep boosts immune system
Growth- pituitary gland releases growth hormone during sleep
Mental function- role in problem solving, learning/memory (memory consolidation, creativity, attention, flexibility)
Adaptive function- preservation and protection, maximize energy gain
Insomnia
inability to fall or remain asleep. Avoid “quick fixes” such as sleeping pills, alcohol; make sleep routine/environment changes-need good sleep hygiene
Narcolepsy
Periodic, uncontrollable sleep attacks. Relative absence of hypothalamic neural center that produces hypocretin, an alerting neurotransmitter
Sleep apnea
breathing difficulties/cessation-> poor quality sleep->feeling exhausted during the day. Also linked to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease
Sleep talking/walking
Not considered disorders when in children
occurs in NREM sleep
Sleep or night terrors
occur in children during NREM stage 4
extreme nightmares
frightening/terrifying dreams during NREM, NOT considered a disorder when in children
Is there a hand-held ban?
no
For which drivers is texting banned?
Texting is banned for ALL drivers
Nightmares vs. Sleep terrors
Nightmares- tend to happen in the later part of a night’s sleep, often in the very early morning hours. Children wake up from a nightmare feeling scared or upset and respond to comfort from a parent. They may be reluctant to go back to sleep, and need you to help them feel safe. They can usually remember part of a nightmare.
Night terrors- tend to happen in the first 2 or 3 hours of sleep. Kids don’t respond to comfort or reassurance. They won’t remember having a night terror
sleep health article
“Increase public knowledge of how adequate sleep and treatment of sleep disorders improve health, productivity, wellness, quality of life, and safety on roads and in the workplace”
Adequate sleep is necessary to:
- fight off infection
- support the metabolism of sugar to prevent diabetes
- perform well in school
- work effectively and safely
Negative effects of sleep deprivation
KNOW: sleep timing and duration affect the endocrine, metabolic, and neurological functions that are critical to the maintenance of individual health. If left untreated, sleep disorders and chronic sleep are associated with an increase of: heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, all-cause mortality
Good sleep hygeine
Once you have a nightly goal based on the hours of sleep that you need, it’s time to start planning for how to make that a reality
Start by making sleep a priority in your schedule. This means budgeting for the hours you need so that work or social activities don’t trade off with sleep. While cutting sleep short may be tempting, it doesn’t pay off because sleep is essential to being at your best mentally and physically
Examples of sleep hygiene improvements
sticking to the same sleep schedule
pre-bed routine to make it easier to fall asleep
choosing a mattress that is supportive, comfortable and outfitting it with quality pillows and bedding
minimize potential disruptions from light and sound while optimizing your bedroom temperature and aroma
disconnecting from electronic devices for a half-hour or more before bed
carefully monitoring your intake of caffeine and alcohol and trying to avoid consuming them in the hours before bed
Dreams
sequences of images (primarily visual or auditory), feelings, ideas, and impressions that we experience during sleep
Lucid dreaming
dreamer is aware they are having a dream
Control dreaming
dreamer has some control over the content and course of the dream
Memory consolidation/mental housekeeping
By-product of eliminating and strengthening neural connections in the brain. Forming long-term memories-consolidation of information into long-term memory
Problem-focused
Express concerns of waking life and/or resolve current concerns/problems
Activation-synthesis
No purpose. Dreams occur because of random brain stem signals (activation) in the hindbrain structure called the pons, leading to activation in the visual processing cortex and limbic system (emotion). The brain/cortex then interprets (synthesis) this information or “neural chatter”. Frontal cortex (logic/reason) is NOT activated, often resulting in the nonsensical nature of dreams. This is a biological, NOT a psychological explanation of dreams
Vestibular system
can also be activated while dreaming, leading to dreams of floating and flying
Freudian/psychoanalytic
Express unconscious wishes, thoughts, and conflicts. For Freud “dreams are the disguised fulfillment of a repressed, infantile wish”
Which of the following refers to the memory for how to do
something/perform a physical skill (e.g., riding a bike)?
procedural
In Ebbinghaus’ studies of memory, most of what he forgot after memorizing
information was forgotten shortly after he had studied it, with forgetting slowing down later on.
True
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
Ebbinghaus studied memory using poems subjects memorized.
Which of the following statements regarding short-term memory (STM) is
FALSE?
Information can be held in STM for up to 5 minutes without rehearsal
Which of the following does NOT contribute to forgetting
too much studying/rehearsal resulting in overlearning
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
Flashbulb memories are memories of childhood events that occurred before the age of 2.
Memory for information that we are aware of, can express in words, and can
intentionally retrieve from memory is called _____ memory; memory for information
that we are not aware of, cannot express in words, and cannot intentionally retrieve from
memory is called _____ memory.
explicit; implicit
What is the purpose of dreams?
to satisfy through fantasy the instinctive urges that society judges unacceptable
True or False: Freud’s critics describe him as a reckless, grand theorist who forced his data to fit his theory; his
followers describe him as a creative, revolutionary thinker.
true
Freud considered ___________ to be the “royal road to the unconscious.”
dreams
Freud began studying dreams in the year ________ when seeing young women suffering from _______
1887; hysteria
According to Freud, the source of human neurosis is
emotional damage caused in early childhood
What is the significance of Freud’s so-called Irma dream?
Its the so-called dream specimen of psychoanalysis. Freud used it as the basis to illustrate his interpretive method in the interpretation of dreams.
Freud proposed the general law that dreams are
the dream is a wish fulfillment
True or False: When first published, Freud’s book sold extremely well
false
The _________ transforms dream content to disguise its true meaning through the process he called__________
sensor; dream work
The _______________________ dream is the dream as experienced by the dreamer. The _______________________
dream is the more important, psychologically significant hidden content in which Freud was most interested
manifest; latent
Freud collaborated with a man named _______________________ on helping a woman referred to as
_______________________ overcome her hysteria
Breuer; Anna All
People criticized Freud for his emphasizing the presence of ____________________ symbols in dreams.
sexuality
True or False: For Freud, it was important to determine what a symbol in a dream meant to the individual dreamer
because symbols could have unique, different meanings for different individuals.
true
The death of his _______________________ influenced Freud’s writing of The Interpretation of Dreams, suggesting
his writing the book reflected a part of his own psychoanalysis.
Father
Freud’s initial ___________ theory is his idea that neurosis was the result of childhood sexual abuse; later he proposed the idea of _____________fantasies.
Seduction; infantile sexual
According to Freud, ______________helps keep us asleep
dream function
True or False: Today, dreams are more important within psychoanalysis than they were at the time of Freud.
false
What is the important lesson of the book?
Making sense of the past thru senses or signs that people thought were useless
Psychoactive drugs
substances that change peoples moods, perceptions, mental functioning, or behavior
substance abuse
a pattern of drug use that diminishes the ability to fulfill responsibilities at home, work, or school that results in repeated use of a drug in dangerous situations or that leads to legal difficulties related to drug use
substance dependence
a pattern of compulsive drug taking that results in tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, or other specific symptoms for at least a year
Developing a tolerance …
is one sign of dependence
tolerance
the phenomenon whereby higher doses of the drugs are required to produce its original effects or to prevent withdrawal symptoms
withdrawal symptoms
the unpleasant physical or psychological effects following discontinuance of the substance
depressants
biphasic, tension-reduction “high”, followed by depressed physical and psychological function
barbiturates, tranquilizers
depressed reflexes and impaired motor functioning, tension reductions
opiates
euphoria, drowsiness, “rush” of pleasure, little impairment of psychological function
stimulants
increased alertness, excitation, euphoria, increased pulse rate and blood pressure, sleepiness
hallucinogens
LSD: illusions, hallucinations, distortions in time perception, loss of contact with reality
Marijuana: euphoria, relaxed inhibitions, increased appetite, possible disorientation
Binge drinking
defined as 5 or more drinks in a row for men
4 or more drinks in a row for women
binge drinking in students
missed classes, fallen behind in schoolwork, engaged in unplanned and unprotected sex, trouble with campus police, vandalism or violence, been hurt or injured
Biological/genetic factors of alcohol/drug use
nature side- disease model of addiction genetic predisposition for abuse-thus, which individuals will develop a problem associated with alcohol and other drugs has a genetic basis
Psychological/social/cultural factors
nurture side- perhaps a greater role in determining who starts to use
hypnosis
“hypnotic suggestion cannot force people to do something foolish and embarrassing- or dangerous- against their will”
Learning
a relatively permanent change in the capacity for behavior as a result of experience
Nature-nurture
learning clearly places emphasis on nurture-learning is the result of experience. However, nature also plays a role. What an animal can and does learn depends on its biology and environment
Learning-performance distinction
Learning capacity for behavior. The mechanisms that underlie behavior. Learning cannot be observed directly; it has to be inferred from behavior (although can “see” changes at the neural level)
Performance: actual behavior-turning capacity/ability into action/behavior. Performance can be observed directly
Learned behaviors
changes in the capacity for behavior as a result of specific experiences
Not learned behaviors
Reflexes- innate/inborn responses to stimuli (eye blink response to puff of air in eye) stimulus response relationships
Behavior changes due to maturation-simply growing older- are NOT learned behaviors (basic growth and development)
why study learning?
- learning is ubiquitous- it is everywhere
- learning is important- it is adaptive. It enables human and nonhuman animals to behave successfully, especially in an ever-changing environment
- application of learning principles is valuable
- Why not study learning? out of curiosity-the desire to know how we humans and other animals learn and behave
single-event learning
learning about one thing
Non associative learning
does NOT involve associating (connecting in one’s mind) one event with another
Habituation
decrease in the response to a stimulus with repeated experiences with it. Also call desensitization
Sensitization
increase in the response to a stimulus with repeated experiences with it
classical conditioning
a form of learning in which a response elicited by one stimulus becomes elicited by a previously neutral stimulus
classical conditioning terms
US: unconditioned stimulus
UR: unconditioned response
Neutral stimulus
CS: conditioned stimulus
CR: conditioned response
extinction
a conditioning procedure for weakening and eliminating learned behaviors
spontaneous recovery
After extinction, present the conditioned stimulus by itself after a rest period and the conditioned response, which was extinguished reappears
Thus spontaneous recovery indicates extinction does NOT produce unlearning, it produces new learning-the learning of a second association
stimulus generalization
tendency to respond to new stimuli similar to stimuli that have been conditioned
stimulus discrimination
tendency NOT to respond to stimuli that have been conditioned
stimulus discrimination indicated there is a limit to stimulus generalization
Fear conditioning procedure with rats
conditioned emotional response laboratory procedure for studying fear conditioning. Train a rat using classical conditioning to show fear (CR) to a tone (CS) paired with foot shock (US)
Fear conditioning in a human infant
J.B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner classically conditioned “little albert” to show fear (CR) to a white rat (CS) that initially did NOT cause fear by presenting the rat (CS) along with a loud noise (US) that innately led to fear (UR)
The conditioned fear of rats then generalized (transferred) to
other similar stimuli never presented with the loud noise (e.g.,
Albert showed fear to a furry rabbit and dog following
conditioning but not before conditioning with the rat).
conditioned test aversion
many things in the environment are inedible, and if consumed can lead to illness or death.
Learn to associate the smell and
taste of harmful food with the illness its produces and thus
learn to dislike and avoid the food in the future.
CTA lab studies
Lab studies with rats: A CS (sweet-tasting water, which rats
like to drink) is paired with a US (drug leads to nausea/illness =
UR). Through conditioning, the CS sweet taste acquires the
capacity to elicit nausea and avoidance of the sweet-tasting
water (CR; rats no longer drink the sweet-tasting water).
CTA powerful form of conditioning
- Get taste aversion in one conditioning trial (e.g., need rodent
poison, such as d-Con, to kill in one feeding or rats and mice will
avoid eating it again if it merely made them ill but did not kill them). - The aversion is long lasting (can last for years).
- Get conditioning with a long time interval (hours) between CS
and US (contrary to what find with other conditioning
procedures in which the interval has to be short, perhaps just
seconds between the CS and US to get conditioning).
Classical Conditioning Is Selective: Nature AND
Nurture Interact (Nature-Nurture Enduring Issue)
Preparedness:
* Certain conditioned responses are learned very easily, as if we
are “prepared” to learn them; other conditioned responses are
learned with great difficulty.
* A biological predisposition (nature) to learn (nurture) certain
behaviors.
* Example: Conditioned taste aversions are easily formed
when we eat food and get sick. We avoid eating that food
again even if it was not the food that caused the sickness.
* Example: People tend to fear and have phobias of heights, snakes,
and the dark because of the adaptive, survival value of having
such fears in our evolutionary past. However, people do NOT tend
to have phobias of electrical outlets and automobiles, which also
can hurt them, because electrical outlets and automobiles are
relatively recent inventions and not part of our evolutionary past.chapter 5
Classical Conditioning Is Selective: Nature AND
Nurture Interact (Nature-Nurture Enduring Issue)
Why are taste aversions acquired so easily, and why don’t
we develop phobias of everything we pair with harm
Examples of classical conditioning
immune system (mind-body)
drug addiction (mind-body)
infant sucking behavior
allergic reactions
control of pain sensitivity
applications of classical conditioning
counterconditioning
desensitization and exposure therapy ( its extinction)
aversion therapy- treatment of alcoholism; treating Non heterosexual behavior; poison prevention with kids (mr.yuk is green and mean)
Advertising/transfer advertising-Pair products and services with positive images so the positive emotions elicited by the images will transfer to what is being sold.
training drug dogs-uses classical conditioning; rewarded when perform successfully
operant conditioning
The second major type of learning in
which behaviors are emitted (in the
presence of specific stimuli) to earn
reinforcers (rewards) or avoid punishers
IMPORTANT: Operant conditioning
emphasizes the importance of
consequences of behavior in directing
behavior.
elements of operant conditioning
behavior->consequence->effect on behavior
Thorndikes puzzle box and law of effect
Found cats could undo a cage latch to escape from the box more quickly on successive trials. Thorndike’s trial-and-error learning and the Law
of Effect—effects/consequences of behavior influence behavior.
differences between classical and operant conditioning
Classical conditioning: Behavior is NOT required to obtain the significant event (e.g., Pavlov’s dog gets food US without having to do anything to get it). Stimulus-Stimulus (bell CS- food US) learning.
Operant conditioning: Behavior IS required to obtain the significant event (e.g., the rat MUST press the lever to get the food). Response- Stimulus (lever press – food) learning
reinforcers and punishers
reinforces-strengthen behavior
punishers- weaken behavior
reinforcement
positive reinforcement- behavior->reinforcer (“good”) added-> behavior increases (is strengthened)
Ex: clean your room-> play video game->more likely to clean room
Negative reinforcement-behavior->aversive (“bad”) stimulus taken away->behavior increases
Ex: take a pain killer-> headache goes away->take a pain killer for headache
Positive and negative do NOT refer to behavior increasing or decreasing, but rather the consequence
Positive (+) = something is “added” (delivered) as a consequence
Negative (-) = something is “subtracted” (taken away) as a
consequence
examples of negative reinforcement
escape and avoidance conditioning
punishment
decreases behavior
positive punishment
Behavior→aversive (“bad”) stimulus
added→behavior decreases (is weakened)
(e.g., swear/curse→spank/mouth washed out with soap→less likely to swear again)
negative punishment
Behavior→reinforcer (“good”) taken away→behavior
decreases
(e.g., hit brother with toy→toy taken
away→less likely to hit brother).
IMPORTANT: Time outs and grounding are examples of negative punishment.
drawbacks of positive punishment
-It can teach/model aggression.
-it can lead to negative emotions (e.g., fear, anger toward
parent) and behavior (e.g., avoidance of parent).
-Focuses on what one should NOT do, but does not teach what behavior should be performed. Thus, when use punishment to decrease “bad” behavior, also should use reinforcement to strengthen “good” behavior you would rather see the person perform—the so-called positive opposite.
-It can go beyond discipline and cross over to abuse
extinction as another way to decrease behavior
Extinction can be used instead of punishment because both procedures
decrease behavior.
Example: Ignore a child’s whining when wants something cannot have to decrease whining behavior. Parent typically gives in and gives whining child what he/she wants and thus the whining
behavior is reinforced/strengthened. The parent’s “giving in” behavior is
strengthened through negative reinforcement—it removes/subtracts the
aversive whining of the child. The child’s whining is strengthened through
positive reinforcement—it adds the toy, candy, etc. that was whining for.
Instead, use extinction—don’t reinforce whining and whining decreases—
and also reinforce the good behavior you desire to see in the child
diversity-universality in context of learning applications of operant conditioning
socialization
behavior modification to change behaviors and improve the lives of children, adolescents, and adults of all ages in a variety of settings
aid the physically challenged
military
learning by observing
learn by observing a model-someone else’s behavior
shaping
reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior
4 steps in using operant techniques to modify one’s own behavior
- identify the behavior you want to acquire. This is called the target behavior.
- defining the target behavior precisely
- monitoring your present behavior
- providing yourself with a positive reinforcer that now maintains your undesirable behavior
contingency
contingency and blocking indicate the predictive/informational value of the CS is important in determining whether or not conditioning will occur to it. It is NOT just contiguity (the CS and US being presented closely together in time) that is important
Difference between primary reinforcers and secondary reinforcers
Primary reinforcers: reinforcers that are rewarding themselves, such a food, water or sex
Secondary reinforcers: reinforcers whose value is acquired through association with other primary or secondary reinforcers (money)
cognitive learning
learning that depends on mental processes that are not directly observable
Latent learning
learning that is not immediately reflected in a behavior change
Tolman’s study with rats-one group given a reward, the other group not; placed rats from group 2 and placed in group 1 (with reward) and the rats from group 2 immediately ran the maze. Tolman says group 2’s learning was latent and was not reflected yet. It was when they were given a motivation to run the maze that they put their latent learning to use
