Final Review Flashcards
What are the components of classical conditioning?
Unconditioned Stimulus (US) --> Unconditioned Response (UR) Conditioned Stimulus (originally does not generate such response) associated with US US --> Conditioned Response (CR) [Same as UR]
What are the steps of classical conditioning?
Aquisition, extinction,spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination
What is aquisition?
Gradual development of CRs
What is extinction?
Reduction of CR when CS is presented without being followed b US
What is spontaneous recovery?
Reappearance of CRs following periods of rest between extinction and training sessions
What is inhibition?
A CS’s prediction of the nonoccurence of US.
What is generalization?
Response to stimuli that resemble the CS
What are implications of generalization/overgeneralization?
Language aquisition, social learning
Overgeneralization –> General anxiety disorder, PTSD
What is discrimination?
Responding to the CS but not to similar stimuli that have not been paired with US
What is higher order conditioning?
CRs to stimuli that predict the occurence of a CS
What is latent inhibition?
Slower development of CRs to a familiar CS than to an unfamiliar CS.
What is operant conditioning?
Association between behavior and consequences
What are the four types of consequences in operant conditioning?
Positive reinforcement: adding stimulus increases behavior
Negative reinforcement: removing stimulus increases behavior
Positive punishment: adding stimulus decreases behavior
Negative punishment: removing stimulus decreases behavior
What is the Skinner box?
Likelihood for the rat to press the button when associated with reward/punishment.
What are different schedules of reinforcement for operant conditioning?
Fixed/variable
Ratio/interval
What is nonassociative learning?
Habituation: Reduced response to repeated, unchanging, irrelevant stimuli (First-night effect)
Sensitization: Increased response to stimuli after exposed to a strong stimulus (Jumpiness after earthquake)
What is observational learning?
Learning by watching others, imitate/avoid behaviors
Bandura: modeling aggression with children and bobo doll
Limits: attention, memory, reproduction, motivation
What are the different types of memory?
Sensory input –> Short-Term Memory –Rehearsal –> Long Term Memory
Flashbulb Memory –> Long Term Memory
What is sensory memory?
Stores all information affecting sensory receptors (< 1 second)
Separate channels for different sensory types
What is short term memory?
Information stored for further processing Limited capacity (5-9 bits) --> expanded through chunking Limited duration (< 30 seconds) --> expanded through rehearsal
What is working memory?
Active manipulation of information, allows multiple processes to occur simultaneously
Phonological loop: verbal/auditory information
Visuospatial sketch pad: visual/spatial information
Central execute: manages the work of other components by directing attention to certain tasks
Episodic buffer: combining information stored in the long term memory with processes in the working memory
What are the three processes involved in the memory process?
Encoding: sensory input –> mental representation
Retrieval: recall/remember from long-term memory
Consolidation: short-term or flashbulb memory –> long term memory, off-line (does not require attention)
What is flashbulb memory?
Memory with high salience and strong affective tones, directly consolidated to long-term memory
What are the different types of long-term memory?
Declarative –> semantic & episodic
Nondeclarative –> procedural memory, priming, classical conditioning
What is declarative memory?
Can be discussed verbally, accessed consciously and directly
What is semantic memory?
Store of general knowledge (facts/definitions)
What is episodic memory?
Personal account of past experiences
What is nondeclarative memory?
Hard to explain, affects people subconsciously and indirectly
What is procedural memory?
How to carry out skilled movement, difficult to describe but easy to demonstrate
What is priming?
change of response due to pre-exposure to similar stimuli
What is autobiographical memory?
Combines semantic and episodic memories, references the self
What is forgetting?
Decreases in the ability to remember a previously formed memory
What is decay?
Ability to recall fades over time for information that is not being used.
What is interference?
Competition between newer and older information in the memory system
Learned first –> proactive interference to target learning
Learned last –> retroactive interference to target learning
What is motivated forgetting?
Failure to retrieve unpleasant/threatening information.
What are techniques for memory enhancement?
Spaced learning rather than cramming (more consolidation, less interference)
Retrieval practice (taking test rather than repeated studying)
Sleep (lack of interference, memory consolidation, reorganizes memory)
Exercises (increase neurogenesis in hippocampus)
Recite (verbalize in your own words, connects to self)
What are the five traits of personality in the big five theory?
Openness to new experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
What is openness to new experience?
Fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values
What is conscientiousness?
Competence, order, dutifulness, achievement-striving, self-discipline, deliberation
What is extroversion?
Warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, positive emotion
What is agreeableness?
Trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness
What is neuroticism?
Anxiety, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, vulnerability
What are the two different loci of control?
Internal: Outcome from your own talent and effort
External: Outcome due to factors beyond control
What can be used to measure personality?
Inventories (objective tests involving scale/MC, quick and inexpensive, e.g. MMPI)
Projective tests (different interpretations of ambiguous stimulus, access the unconscious mind, e.g. Rorschach Inkblot Test)
Computer (judge personality based on Facebook likes, implicit association test –> reaction time)
What are biological approaches to personality?
Genetics –> Personality traits & psychological disorders (e.g. ADHD and extroversion, agreebleness autism)
Studies of identical twins raised together or apart (similar responses on personality inventories, occupation interest, religion, but lower similarity on nonreligious social attitude)
Brain structure: middle frontal gyrus –> conscientiousness
What is self-concept?
Attributes assigned to the self
What is self-schema?
Collection of self-concepts to form organized thinking about the self (a superordinate schema)
What is self-awareness?
Knowledge of the self
What is self-esteem?
Judgement of the self’s worth
What is self-regulation? What are some studies related to it?
Conscious control of ourselves.
Marshmallow –> Eat the marshmallow or not eat it and receive two, those who do not do well later perform worse in emotionally charged go/no go tests as adults
White bear –> repressing a thought makes people want to think about it even more
What are cultural influence on the concept of self?
Individualistic –> independent self-system
Collectivistic –> interdependent self-system
Collectivist: self and mother activated the same brain areas
What is cultural priming?
Temporarily bias self-construal and make certain self-concepts more accessible
What are concepts?
Organized principles derived from learning and experience.
What is a schema?
Cognitive framework/concept to organize and interpret information
What is a prototype?
A representation of a category formed by averaging all members of category
What are heuristics? What are types are there?
Rules of thumb / short cut to problem solving
Availability, representativeness, recognition, affect
What is availability heuristics?
Events that are easy to think about are more likely
flying vs. driving
What is representativeness heuristics?
Stimuli more similar to prototype are more likely
What is recognition heuristics?
More recognizable stimuli have higher value
What is affect heuristics?
Tendency to use emotional response to each choice when making a decision
What is loss aversion?
Tendency to prefer avoiding loss to acquiring equivalent gains.
What is framing effect?
Loss/negative framking makes people take riskier actions to avoid loss
What is aphasia?
Loss of ability to speak or understand language
What is Broca’s aphasia? Where is the brain area?
Slow, effortful speech with comprehension
Left frontal lobe
What is Wernicke’s aphasia? Where is the brain area?
Fluent, meaningless speech, no comprehension
Left temporal lobe
What is general intellignece?
A single measure of intelligence that predicts most of the person’s intellectual performance
Verbal, spatial, mathematical, logical
What is the concept of multiple inteligences?
Some skills show low correlation with others
Strong musical ability for patients of Williams syndrome (low IQ)
What is fluid intelligence?
Ability of logical thinking without the need for previous knowledge
What is crystal intelligence?
Intellignece that requires previous knowledge
What is emotional/social intelligence?
Manage emotions, reason about others’ state of mind
What is collective intelligence?
Group’s performance, independent of individuals’ intelligence, more dependent on social sensitivity and conversation sharing
What are the two dimensions of person perception?
Dominance and trustworthiness
What is the significance of first impression?
Fast and persistent
Can only be changed by reinterpretation or extensive further exposure
What is an attribution? What are the two types?
Judgment about causes of others’ behavior.
Dispositional (internal) and situational (external)
What is correspondence bias?
Tendency to use dispositional attribution even when strong situational factors are obvious.
Related to fundamental attribution error (failure to consider situational factors)
What is self-serving bias?
Attributing success to disposition and failure to situation
What is just-world belief?
Assuming good things happen to good people and bad things to bad people
What is cognitive dissonance?
Uncomfortable state when behavior and attitude do not match
Change attitude to reach cognitive consistency
What is persuasion?
Change of attitude in response to information
What is the elaboration likelihood model?
Organizes and predicts responses to persuasive messages
Central Route: considers arguments carefully and thoughtfully
Peripheral Route: responding to peripheral cues without carefully considering the arguments
What is prejudice?
Unfavorable evaluation towards others based only on the group they belong to
What is stereotype?
Belief that certain attributes are characteristic of a particular social group
What is discrimination?
Behavior resulting from prejudice and stereotype
What is the stereotype content model?
Two dimensions: Competence (ability to do tasks) & Warmth (trustworthy, harmless)
How can prejudice be reduced?
Contact
Equal standing and cooperation to solve problems
What is social facilitation?
Individual performance influenced by the presence of others
e.g. running faster with a buddy than alone
What is social loafing?
Working in a group decreases individual effort
e.g. group projects at school
What is deindividuation?
Behavior differs when a person is in a group and becomes anonymous rather than when alone and identifiable
e.g. mobs
What is group polarization?
Attitudes become more intense following discussion
What is groupthink?
Flawed group decision when members do not consider dissenting views to keep harmony of the group
What is a psychological disorder?
A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion, regulation or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental proceeses underlying mental functioning
What is the DSM?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Listing the disorders and symptoms to promote consistency in the diagnosis of psychological disorders
Criticized for including certain normal behaviors
What is ASD? What are its symptoms and causes?
Autism spectrum disorder (neurodevelopmental)
Symptoms: Lack of social skills, inability to communicate (language skills vary across individuals), ritualistic behavior
Causes: Genetics (genes expressed the same in frontal and temporal lobes), smaller minicolumns, difference in amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum, parental age, prenatal exposure to infection and nutritional factors, use of antidepressant during pregnancy, no relationship to vaccination
What is ADHD? What are its symptoms and causes?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (neurodevelopmental)
Symptoms: inability to maintain sustained attention/on-task behavior for age-appropriate length of time, hyperactvitiy/impulsivity (high level of motor activity)
Causes: Genetics, lead contamination, low birth weight, prenatal exposure to tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, underactive frontal lobe, smaller amygdala, basal ganglia, hippocampus, and brain in general, disruption in corpus callosum, delayed brain maturity, food additives
What is schizophrenia? What are its symptoms and causes?
A psychotic disorder
Symptoms: Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorder movement, diminished emotional expression, lack of goal-oriented behavior (avolition).
Causes: Genetics, enlarged ventricles, low level of frontal lobe activity, loss of gray matter in teens, abnormal dopamine/glutamate activity, extreme stress, prenatal exposure to viral illness, marijuana use
What is the difference between delusions and hallucinations?
Delusions: unrealistic beliefs, including paranoia, grandiosity, and control
Hallucinations: false perceptions, mainly auditory, and the respective brain regions are activated
What is bipolar disorder? What are its symptoms and causes?
Mood disorder alternating between mania and depression
Symptoms of mania: grandiosity, little need for sleep, rapid speech, difficulty concentrating, rapidly shifting ideas
Possible depression
Causes: Genetics (similar to schizophrenia), omega-3 fatty acids (help prevent bipolar disorder), serotonin disturbances
What is MDD? What are its symptoms and causes?
Major depressive disorder, mood disorder
Symptoms: depressed mood, anhedonia (loss of pleasure), sleep distrubances, appetite disturbances, difficulty concentrating, hopelessness, possible suicidal thoughts
Causes: learned helplessness, negative thoughts about self, world, and future, rumination, depressive attribution (stable, internal, global), genetics, low level of serotonin, anterior cingulate cortex overactivity, disruption in circadian rhythm, stress.
What is an anxiety disorder?
Unrealistic and counterproductive levels of anxiety
Strong negative emotions
Physical tension because of anticipation of danger
What is phobia? What are its symptoms and causes?
Symptoms: Fears of objects or situations other than those associated with agoraphobia and social anxiety disorder
Causes: exaggeration of normal caution, classical conditioning, cognition
What is social anxiety disorder? What are its symptoms and causes?
Symptoms: Fear of being scruntinized and criticized by others, particularly during public speking or meeting new people
Causes: spotlight effect (belief that others are scruntinizing them), collectivist culture emphasizing shame
What is panic disorder? What are its symptoms and causes?
Symptoms: Repeated panic attacks (intense fear and autonomic arousal) and fear of future attacks
Causes: large quantities of orexins, cognition regarding increased heart rate, expectations and embarrassment, cultural influences
Linked to agoraphobia
What is GAD? What are its symptoms and causes?
General anxiety disorder
Symptoms: Excessive anxiety and worry for six months that is not correlated to particular objects or situations, headache, stomachache, muscle tension.
Causes: Genetics (possible abnormality with amygdala), fearful schemas, stress, low socioeconomic status, disruption in social connectivity
What is OCD? What are its symptoms and causes?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Symptoms: distressing, intrusive thoughts (obsessions), need to engage in repetitive, ritualistic behavior (compulsions)
Causes: Genetics, more activity of orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, caudate nucleus of basal ganglia, lower level of serotonin activity, extension of grooming and territoraility behaviors, positive outcome of compulsions (reducing anxiety), extension of cultural rituals
What is body dysmorphic disorder? What are its symptoms and causes?
Unrealistic perception of physical falws
Causes: genetics, superior perception of facial distortions
What is PTSD? What are its symptoms and causes?
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Symptoms: hypervigilance, avoidance of stimuli associated with trauma, emotional numbing, reexperiencing through repetitive flashbacks and nightmares
Causes: Small hippocampus size, low level of benzodiazepines in frontal cortex, classical conditioning/overgeneralization, low social support
What is DID? What are its symptoms and causes?
Dissociative identity disorder
Symptoms: Experience of two or more distinct personality states
Causes: Responses to extreme stress, suspectibility to hypnosis, inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy
What is ASPD? What are its symptoms and causes?
Antisocial personality disorder
Symptoms: Pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, little regard for rules/conventions, risky/irresponsible behaviors
Causes: Genetics, evolutionary advantage of fearlessness, lack of emotional response, abnormalities of orbitofrontal cortex
What is BPD? What are its symptoms and causes?
Borderline personality disorder
Symptoms: instabiliy in interpersonal relationships, self-image, emotion, frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, impulsive/self-destructing behaviors
Causes: Genetics, history of abandonment, neglect, physical/sexual abuse
What is NSD? What are its symptoms and causes?
Narcissistic personality disorder
Symptoms: grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy (grandiose and vulnerable)
Causes: temperament, development of self-esteem strategies in the child, overpraising/cold parenting
What is evidence-based practice?
The approach to combine research evidence, clinical expertise, and individual values to provide the best outcome for the patient/client
What is the difference between psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and couselors?
Psychiatrists: Standard medical doctor degree, treats psychological disorders, prescribes medication, more concerned with biological factors
Clinical Psychologists: PhD or PsyD, treats disorders and problems with adjustment, may prescribe medication with license
Counselors: Master’s or doctoral degree in psychology or related field, specializes in problems with adjustment, does not prescribe medication
What is the psychoanalytic approach to psychological disorders?
Insight therapy: improve once people understand their problems
Free association: says whatever comes to mind
Hypnosis and dream analysis to access the unconscious mind
Transference: uses an earlier relationship as a prototype for a current relationship.
Resistance: occurs when the patient gets closer to the insight
What is the humanistic approach to psychological disorders?
Person-centered therapy: client rather than patient, nondirective with clients taking an active role
Discrepancies between ideal self and real self –> bring into alignment
Empathy, unconditional positive regard, reflection and clarification of feelings
What is the behavioral approach to psychological disorders?
Application of classical and operant conditioning to reduce unwanted behavior and increase desirable behavior
Focuses on observed behaviors, not interested in reasons
What is the cognitive approach to psychological disorders?
The way we think about our circumstances is essential to our health and adjustment –> Irrational, self-defeating ways of thinking
Cognitive restructuring: substitution of rational for irrational beliefs
Rational emotive behavioral therapy: therapist not necessarily supportive
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): cognitive restructuring and behavioral changes
What is the biological approach to psychological disorders?
Medication
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), used when patient does not respond to other treatments, anesthetized and given muscle relaxant before induction of general seizures, useful for MDD and bipolar disorder (increases responsiveness to dopamine and norepinephrine)
Psychosurgery (e.g. lobotomy)
Brain stimulation, reversible, deep brain stimulation (surgically implanted electrodes, OCD and MDD), repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS, useful and MDD and schizophrenia, negative effect for OCD)
Neurofeedback (trained to keep EEG and fMRI readings in a desired range)
What is stress?
Unpleasant emotional state resulting from perception of danger
What is a stressor?
A source of stress
How is stress related to the biological system?
Amygdala: sensory input –> thalamus –> amygdala (rapid assessment of whether the stimulus is dangerous)
Sympathetic Adrenal-Medullary (SAM) System: release of adrenaline and norepinephrine, pounding heart, rapid breathing [immediate, short-lived]
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) Axis: release of cortisol [slower, lasts longer]
What is cortisol?
A stress hormone, provides more energy to deal with a stressor, released by HPA aixs
Harm of too much cortisol: death of neurons, Cushing’s disease (reduced hippocampus, memory problem, abnormal sleep, depression)
Regulation: regulated by feedback loop involving hippocampus (receptors for stress hormones), but cannot regulate when too much stress hormone is released (will also be damaged)
What is the gender difference in terms of response to stress?
Women: tend and befriend (oxytocin)
Soothe frightened children, hide, form social alliances
How is stress related to socioeconomic status?
Lower SES –> more stress, worth health, accelerates aging
How is stress related to epigenetics?
Nurturing –> more resilience to stress, causes change to genes related to production of stress hormones and response to stress hormones
Increased HPA response –> hyperactivity of norepinephrine, hippocampus becomes smaller, amygdala becomes more responsiv
MDD related to stress and genetic predisposition
What are strategies of coping with stress?
Sense of control, healthy habits, regular aerobic exercise, mindfulness, social connection/support
What are three types of coping?
Problem-focused (address the issue head-on)
Emotion-focused (deal with negative emotions associated with stressor)
Relationship-focused (maintain/protect social relationships in response to stress)
What are the four simple habits that lead to healthy life styles?
Never smoke, exercise 30 minutes per day, maintain a nonobese weight, have a healthy diet
What are the five domains of behaviors that affect health?
Tobacco Use (smoking is leading preventable cause of death is U.S.)
Nutrition (Obesity –> chronic diseases, specific nutrients are necessary for proper functioning)
Alcohol (Accidents, liver diesease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer)
Exercise (Health, mood, cognition)
Loneliness (Affects sleep, immunity, HPA axis response, sympathetic nervous system response, gene expression, inflammation, impulse control, depression)
What is positive psychology?
Emphasizes normal behavior and human strengths
What is optimism?
Thinking positively about the future
Can be learned, like helplessness
What is happiness?
Hedonic: gaining pleasure, avoiding pain
Eudaimonic: meaningfulness, self-realiation
Transient –> relative
What is the difference between the pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life?
Pleasant life: savor your experience without trying to multitask
Good life: incorporate your key strengths into your activity
Meaningful life: focus on something bigger than yourself
