phycology flash cards
Which brain structure in the limbic system is crucial for the formation and consolidation of new memories?
hippocampus
A physiological response is:
changes in the body
The brain’s cerebrum is divided into two halves – the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. What brain structure connects these two hemispheres?
Corpus callosum
Which field of psychology primarily focuses on understanding how people grow and change throughout their lives?
developmental phycology
The subjective component of emotion includes:
feelings and thoughts
What is a healthy way of expressing anger?
assertive communication
what does assertive communication involve?
- Expressing emotions and point of view in a clear and direct way.
- Maintaining respect for self and others.
- Using ‘I’ statements
Define psychology
Phycology is the study of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.
Sally is waiting in the wings about to perform in her first ever dance recital. She is feeling nervous. Using the 3 components of emotion, describe Sally’s emotional response in this scenario.
physiological response: because she is feeling nervous this has activated her autonomic nervous system which can cause her to sweat, have an adrenaline rush and heart rate increases.
Expressive behaviour: because she is nervous is that she is fidgeting, biting her nails, or she could cry. These are the things that we can see happening on the outside.
Subjective feelings: The things she is feeling on the inside. Her nervousness is activated from the dance recital, and this can cause her to think other negative thoughts.
Give examples of expressive behaviours.
biting fingernails, yelling, crying, smiling, fidgeting.
Compare the roles of the Somatic Nervous System and Autonomic Nervous System.
The autonomic nervous system controls the involuntary body functions. The somatic nervous systems controls the voluntary body functions.
what are microexpressions?
Microexpressions are involuntary facial expressions that only last less than a second. (ie mucroexpressions cannot be consciously controlled).
List examples of biological, psychological and social factors that influence behaviour.
Biological: genetics, hormones, parts of the brain and brain structure, age, medications and drugs including alcohol, fight or flight response, illness and disease, sleep and sleep deprivation
psychological: emotions, thoughts, attitudes and beliefs, coping strategies, memories of past experiences, mental health, personality traits
social: family relationships, friends, peer pressure, socioeconomic status, work or school, cultural traditions and expectations, societal norms and expectations
The polygraph is commonly referred to as a “lie detector” but it doesn’t actually detect lies. Explain how the polygraph works. In your answer list the physiological responses measured, describe the types of questions asked and explain how it is used to detect lying.
The polygraph measures breathing rate, blood pressure and galvanic skin response. The problem with polygraphs is that the arousal they measure could be heightened due to things other than deceptive behaviour like surprise, shock or fear. Two different types of questions are asked during a polygraph. Control questions are asked to establish a baseline level of arousal. They are generally routine and unemotional such as “Is your name X?”. Relevant questions are related to the investigation such as “where were you on X day at X time?”. If physiological arousal increases on relevant questions compared to control questions, it can be assumed the person is lying.
Give one example of how the brain of someone experiencing depression might be different to the brain of someone not experiencing depression.
People who suffer from major depressive disorder release larger amounts of cortisol than the average person. The result of this long term exposure is that parts of the brain can actually shrink, including the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, which are involved in memory and decision making. o The amygdala is particularly active when a human or animal experiences negative emotions such as fear. Neuroimaging studies have shown that in response to viewing sad faces, the amygdala of depressed people is extremely active compared to the amygdala of non-depressed people. So an overactive amygdala may be a contributor to depression.
Explain what the darker and lighter shades of each colour on Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotion indicate. Use an example to support your answer.
The darker and lighter shades of each colour on Plutchik’s wheel of emotion indicate that emotions can be experienced at different intensities
Name two emotions that according to Plutchik cannot exist at the same time. Explain why.
Plutchik’s theory is that emotions on opposite sides of the wheel of emotion are polar opposite emotions and cannot exist at the same time.
Define the term display rules.
Display rules are a set of norms within a society or culture that dictate the way emotion is expressed, and with what level of intensity.
Explain how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) works.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be used to treat a range of things including anxiety and depression. It involves a combination of cognitive and behavioural therapy.
Give an example of a common cognitive distortion that may be addressed during CBT.
- Personalisation: attributing personal responsibility for events which aren’t under a person’s control (eg., our team lost because of me, it’s all my fault)
- Catastrophising: jumping to the worst case scenario immediately (eg., this spot on my skin is probably skin cancer, I’ll be dead soon)
- Overgeneralisation: making sweeping conclusions based on a single event (eg., after one bad date, saying “I’ll never find a partner”)
Explain one difference between psychologists and psychiatrists.
- A phycologist cannot handle medical things as they are not certified medical doctors, psychiatrist are medical doctors where they can handle and prescribe medication.
- Psychologists can conduct psychological tests like IQ tests, whereas psychiatrists cannot.
Explain why you might check appropriate gestures before going on an overseas trip.
You would check appropriate gestures before going on an overseas trip because gestures are not universal across cultures and you would not want to offend someone or be misunderstood. For example, the “okay” gesture can just mean okay, good or perfect, but in some countries it can be a rude gesture.
Describe what is involved in anger management.
- Anger management involves teaching the person how to express emotions assertively instead of aggressively.
- Anger is a normal and healthy emotion, but it can be difficult to manage and when uncontrolled impact relationships, work/school and mental health. Some people experience anger more frequently and with more intensity than most, causing them to respond with disproportionate aggression. The aim of anger management is to help the person understand and manage anger in a constructive way
- Anger management also involves learning calming strategies that relax and control internal physiological responses. For example, deep breathing, meditation, and allowing time for feelings to subside by removing oneself temporarily from the situation.
define emotion.
Emotions are very helpful to humans, for example crying can be beneficial for you to understand others emotion better. Our own emotions allow us to comprehend the other emotions of others. We experience emotions of different intensity.
