Psychology Flashcards
Define learning
A process by which experience produces a relatively enduring change in an organism’s behaviour or capabilities
How we adapt to our environment
Can be overt (behavioural) or covert (cognitive)
What are the ABC elements of behaviour?
Antecedent (or cue)
Behaviour
Consequence
What is antecedent (in the ABC elements of behaviour)?
Environmental conditions or stimulus changes that exist before the behaviour of interest
internal or external to the subject
What is behaviour (in the ABC elements of behaviour)?
Behaviour of interest emitted by the subject
Influenced by antecedents and consequences
What is consequence (in the ABC elements of behaviour)?
Stimulus change that follows the behaviour of interest
What are the 3 basic learning processes?
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Observational learning
What is classical conditioning?
Learning what events signal
What is operant conditioning?
Learning one thing leads to another
What is observational learning?
Learning from others
What are the stimuli types in classical conditioning?
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) Conditioned stimulus (CS)
What is an unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning?
A stimulus that elicits a reflexive or innate response (the UCR) without prior learning
What is an conditioned stimulus in classical conditioning?
A stimulus that (through association with an unconditioned stimulus) elicits a conditioned response similar to the original UCR
What is an unconditioned response in classical conditioning?
A reflexive or innate response that is elicited by a stimulus (the UCS) without prior learning
What is an conditioned response in classical conditioning?
A response elicited by a conditioned stimulus
Outline Pavlov’s dog experiment
BEFORE CONDITIONING
Tone -> no salivation response
UCS (food powder) -> UCR (salivation)
DURING CONDITIONING
CS (tone) + UCS (food powder) -> UCR (salivation)
AFTER CONDITIONING
CS (tone) -> CR (salivation)
What strengthens classical conditioning?
There are repeated CS-UCS pairings
UCS= more intense
The sequence involves forward pairing (i.e. CS -> UCS)
The time interval between the CS and UCS is short
What is extinction in classical/operant conditioning?
When operant behaviour that has been previously reinforced no longer produces reinforcing consequences the behaviour gradually stops occurring
What is stimulus generalization?
A tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to a conditioned stimulus
E.g. respond to buzzer when conditioning was a bell
Elicits the CR but in a weaker form
What is stimulus discrimination?
The ability to respond differently to various stimuli
E.g. different bells (school, alarm, time) or fear of only certain dogs
Give a clinical example of classical conditioning
25-30% of chemo patients experience anticipatory nausea and vomiting
Chemo (US) -> Nausea (UCR)
Related cues e.g. sight of chemo unit (CS) -> Anticipatory nausea (CR)
How can conditioning affect immune system function? (Bovbjerg et al, 1990)
Blood samples of patients at home and hospital before chemo
Patients rated feelings of nausea and NK cell activity was measured
At home-> less nausea, more immune function
What is overshadowing in classical conditioning?
CS altered
Cancer patients divided into two groups
1= given unpleasant, novel drink
2= given water
Patients in group one showed significantly reduced nausea to clinic setting alone
What is the Little Albert experiment? (Watson & Raynor, 1920)
Little Albert conditioned to have a phobia of furry objects (generalized from initial phobia of white rat)
White rat= originally a neutral stimulus Loud noise (US)
Conditioned due to hammer hitting steel bar when child touched rat-> fear and distress (UR)
CS rat -> CR crying
What is fear learning (with e.g. of needle phobia)?
Traumatic injection-> pain/fear
Trauma (UCS) and needle (CS) -> fear response (UCR)
Clinic setting (CS) -> fear response (CR)
Outline the two-factor theory of maintenance of classically conditioned associations e.g. fear
Trauma (UCS) and needle (CS)-> fear response (UCR)
Avoid injections-> fear reduced-> tendency to avoid is reinforced
What is Thorndike’s Law of Effect?
A response followed by a satisfying consequence will be more likely to occur
A response followed by an aversive consequence will become less likely to occured
What is operant conditioning maintained by?
The consequences after behaviour is learned
What is positive reinforcement in operant conditioning?
Occurs when a response is strengthened by the subsequent presentation of a reinforcer
Can be primary or secondary reinforcers
What is a primary reinforcer in positive reinforcement?
Those needed for survival e.g. food, water, sleep, sex
What is a secondary reinforcer in positive reinforcement?
Stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties through their association with primary reinforcers e.g. money and praise
What is negative reinforcement in operant conditioning?
Occurs when a response is strengthened by the removal (or avoidance) of an aversive stimulus
What is a negative reinforcer?
The aversive stimulus that is removed or avoided (e.g. the use of painkillers are reinforced by removing pain)
Does ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ refer to ‘good’ and ‘bad’ stimuli?
NO!!
Refers to presentation or removal of a stimulus
What is a positive punishment?
Occurs when a response is weakened by the presentation of a stimulus (e.g. squirting a cat with water when it jumps on dining table)
What is a negative punishment?
Occurs when a response is weakened by the removal of a stimulus (e.g. phone confiscated)
Which has a more potent influence on behaviour (according to Skinner)- reinforcement or punishment?
Reinforcement is a much more potent influence on behaviour than punishment
Largely because punishment can only make certain responses less frequent- you can’t teach new behaviour
What is operant extinction?
The weakening and eventual disappearance of a response because it is no longer reinforced
What is resistance to extinction?
The degree to which non-reinforced responses persist
What types of reinforcement schedules in operant conditioning are there?
Fixed interval schedule
Variable interval schedule
Fixed ration schedule
Variable ration schedule
What is a fixed interval schedule in reinforcement?
Reinforcement occurs after fixed time interval
What is a variable interval schedule in reinforcement?
Time interval varies at random around an average
What is a fixed ratio schedule in reinforcement?
Reinforcement is given after a fixed number of responses
What is a variable ratio schedule in reinforcement?
Reinforcement is given after a variable number of responses (all centred around an average)
What produces more rapid learning- continuous or partial reinforcement?
Continuous reinforcement produces more rapid learning
Association between a behaviour and its consequences is easier to understand
What reinforced responses extinguish more rapidly- continuous or partial reinforcement?
Continuously reinforced responses extinguish more rapidly
The shift to no reinforcement is sudden and easier to understand
How does operant conditioning relate to medicine (e.g. with chronic pain behaviour)?
Chronic pain behaviour includes limping, grimacing, and medication requests
Reinforced by family or staff e.g. by being overly sympathetic, encouraging rest, increasing medication
Behaviour is reinforced by gratitude signals from the patient
A cycle is created in which the patient receives positive consequences for “being in pain” so pain is more likely to occur in frequency
What is the cognitive approach?
Bandura’s belief that humans are active info processors and think about the relationship between behaviour and consequences
Social imitation may hasten or short-cut the acquisition of new behaviours without the necessity of reinforcing
What is Bandura’s Social Learning Theory?
Observational (vicarious) learning= observe others and see consequences of their behaviours
Vicarious reinforcement= if their behaviours are reinforced we tend to imitate the behaviours
What is modeling/observation learning (Bandura)?
Occurs by watching and imitating actions of another person or by noting consequences of a person’s actions
What are the steps to successful modelling in observational learning?
Pay attention to model
Remember what was done
Must be able to reproduce modeled behaviour
If successful or behaviour is rewarded, behaviour more likely to recur
Outline Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment (1961)
72 children (approx 4y old) spent time in playroom with adult who modelled either non-aggressive or aggressive play
Then spent 20 mins alone in room
Aggressive behaviour was imitative
In social learning, we don’t imitate the behaviour of everyone we encounter. Imitation is more likely if model is…
Seen to be rewarded
High status (e.g. medical consultant)
Similar to us (e.g. colleagues)
Friendly (e.g. peers)
What are the 5 modern day killers?
Dietary excess Alcohol consumption Lack of exercise Smoking Unsafe sexual behaviour
Define health behaviour
Any activity undertaken by an individual believing himself to be healthy for the purpose of preventing disease or detecting it at an asymptomatic stage
What is the Alameda study?
Alameda county CA
List of 7 health behaviours they selected what they did…. not smoking, eating breakfast, not snacking, regular exercise, getting 7-8 hrs sleep, moderate alcohol, moderate weight
After 10 years, lower mortality in individuals (1/4) who practised all 7 than those who practises <3
What are the categories of behaviour change interventions?
Population
Individual
Community
What is the leading health education in the UK called?
Change 4 life
Outline the study of smoking education in school (Nutbeam et al, 1993)
Education programme (specially trained teachers over 3 months) about effects of smoking in 39 schools in England and Wales
Self report questionnaire and saliva test before, immediately after and at 1 year follow up
How can health education be enhanced?
Info is most effective for discrete behaviours (e.g. getting child vaccinated)
Messages tailored to a particular audience (e.g. suggesting condom use to sexually active teens better than abstinence)
Need more than knowledge- e.g. social and psychological support or skills to change
What are the cues for unhealthy eating (learning theory)?
Visual (e.g. fast food signs, sweets at checkout)
Auditory (e.g. ice cream bell)
Olfactory (e.g. smell of baking bread)
Location (e.g. the couch or car)
Time (e.g. evening)/ Events (e.g. end of TV programme )
Emotional (e.g. bored, stressed, sad, happy)
What are the reinforcement contingencies in unhealthy eating?
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
Dopamine, filling an empty void/boredom
Praise for preparing a high-fat meal for the family
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
Avoid painful emotions by comfort eating
PUNISHMENT
Preparing a low fat meal is criticised
DELAYED (LIMITED) POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT FOR HEALTHY EATING
Efforts at dietary change/weight loss go unnoticed by others
Avoiding future health problems is too remote
What behaviour modification techniques techniques can be used in unhealthy eating?
STIMULUS CONTROL TECHNIQUES
Keep ‘danger’ foods out of the house
Avoid keeping biscuits in the same cupboard as tea & coffee
Eat only at the dining table
Use small plates
Do not watch TV at the same time as eating
COUNTER CONDITIONING
Identify ‘high-risk’ situations/cues (e.g. stress) and ‘healthier’ responses
EXAMPLES OF CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT
Involve significant others to praise healthy eating choices
Plan specific rewards for successful weight loss
Vouchers for adherence to healthy eating ad weight loss
NATURALLY OCCURRING REINFORCERS
Improved self-esteem (positive reinforcement)
Reduction in symptoms of breathlessness (negative reinforcement)
Are incentives used in smoking cessation schemes more effective than those aimed at weight loss?
Yes
Incentives used in smoking cessation schemes were most effective those aimed at weight loss were the least effective
NB. Very successful scheme in Dundee offered cash to expectant mothers
What are the limitations of reinforcement programmes?
Lack of generalization (only affects behaviour regarding the specific trait that is being rewarded)
Poor maintenance (rapid extinction of the desired behaviour once the reinforcer disappears)
Impractical and expensive
Does fear arousal work? (Janis & Fesbach, 1953 dental health)
Dental health teaching
Low, moderate and high fear-inducing lectures given to different groups
Effect on subsequent dental hygiene behaviour was measured with self-report questionnaires 1 week later
High levels of fear-> denial and avoidance behaviour
(Low levels better)
What are the largest influencers on adolescent smoking? (Kobus, 2003)
Best friends have greatest influence
Then peer groups
There is substantial peer group homogeneity with respect to adolescent smoking
How did the Waterloo Smoking Prevention Project work and why was this effective? (Flay et al, 1983)
High school students given 6 sessions including rehearsing skills to build confidence in ability to resist peer pressure to smoke
Practical skills useful
Reduced number of children starting smoking
What is the expectancy-value principle?
The potential for a behaviour to occur in any specific situation is a function of the expectancy that the behaviour will lead to a particular outcome and the value of that outcome
What does Rosenstock’s Health Beliefs Model (1966) show?
The likelihood of behavioural change
As a result of: Perceived threat Cues to action Background variables Perceived susceptibility/seriousness Perceived benefits/costs
Outline how the decision to get a flu vaccine can be describes by the Health Beliefs Model
Susceptibility= “A lot of people I know have got flu symptoms” Seriousness= “It’s not something to really worry about” Benefits= “The vaccination will stop me getting sick” Costs/barriers= “The injection will be painful and it might make me ill for a while” Cues= Doctor strongly advises to have it
Outline smoking cessation using the Health Beliefs Model
Susceptibility= Is smoking affecting your health? What would it be like if you got it?
Benefits/barriers= Pros and cons of smoking for you? Anything stopping you from quitting?
Cues= Giving up smoking prompt
What is an outcome efficacy belief?
Individuals expectation that the behaviour will lead to a particular outcome
What is a self efficacy belief?
Belief that one can execute the behaviour required to produce the outcome
What factors influence self efficacy?
Mastery experience
Social learning
Verbal persuasion or encouragement
Physiological arousal
Outline Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (1991)
Beliefs about outcome (expectancy) and evaluation of outcome (value) -> attitude towards the behaviour-> intention-> behaviour
Beliefs about important others’ attitudes towards the behaviour-> subjective norm-> intention-> behaviour
Internal control factors (e.g. self efficacy) and external control factors (e.g. perceived costs/barriers)-> perceived behavioural control-> intention-> behaviour
SEE DIAGRAM
Outline smoking cessation using the Theory of Planned Behaviour
Explore attitudes towards smoking:
- What do you think about smoking?
- Is smoking a good or bad thing for you?
Explore the norms of important people around her:
- What do your friends/family think about you smoking?
- Would you like to quit for [person]?
Explore whether she intends to quit smoking:
- Have you ever thought about quitting?
- Do you intend to quit in the next few months?
Explore how much control she thinks she has:
- Do you think you can quit? - What makes you think that you can’t?
What is the Transtheoretical (Stages of Change) model? (DiClemente, 1983)
Circle
(Pre-contemplation= doesn't recognize need for change or is not actively considering change) Contemplation= recognizes problem and is considering change Preparation= getting ready to change Action= initiating change Maintenance= adjusting to change and practicing new skills/behaviours to sustain change Relapse= may occur and start cycle again (OR PERMANENT EXIT)
Summarise the approaches for modifying health behaviour
Listen and validate patient’s experience
Identify and remedy any gaps in knowledge
Identify cues and reinforcers then modify if possible and plan rewards
Identify and attempt to modify unhelpful beliefs
Enhance self-efficacy
Identify and problem-solve barriers to change
Identify positive, relevant role models
Encourage social support
Tailor intervention to individual’s readiness to change
Motivational interviewing
Define sensation
The stimulus detection system by which our sense organs respond to and translate environmental stimuli into nerve impulses that are sent to the brain
Define perception
The active process organising the stimulus output and giving it meaning
How does sensation lead to perception?
Stimulus energy (light, sound, smell etc)
Sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, etc)
Neural impulses (SENSATION->PERCEPTION)
Brain (visual, auditory, olfactory areas)
Is perception an active process?
Yes
Outline top-down perception
Processing in light of existing knowledge
Influenced by motives, expectations, previous experiences and cultural expectations
Outline bottom-up perception
Individual elements are combined to make a unified perception
Influenced by activation in auditory cortex, vibration of tympanic membrane
What factors affect top-down perception?
Attention
Past experiences (e.g. poor people overestimate size of coins compared to affluent people)
Current drive state (e.g. arousal state) (e.g. when hungry notice food-related stimuli)
Emotions (e.g. anxiety increases threat perception)
Individual values
Environment
Cultural background
Give an example of cross-cultural differences in perception
People in W. Africa thought something above woman’s head was basket not picture on wall
What did Gestalt Laws of perceptual organisation champion?
Championed top-down processing
Continuity, similarity, proximity, closure
What are figure-ground relations according to Gestalt Laws?
Figure-ground relations= our tendency to organise stimuli into central or foreground and a background
Focus of attention becomes the figure, all else is background
What did Gestalt think of continuity?
When the eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another object
What did Gestalt think of similarity?
Similar things are perceived as being grouped together
What did Gestalt think of proximity?
Objects near each other are grouped together
What did Gestalt think of closure?
Things are grouped together if they seem to complete some entity
What are the disorders of visual perception?
Visual agnosias (apperceptive and associative)
What is visual agnosia?
Primary visual cortex can be mostly intact
(Associated with bilateral lesions to the occipital, occiptotemporal, or occipitoparietal lobes)
Basic vision spared
Patient not blind
(Will smile at you, say hi when you come in)
Knowledgeable about information from other senses (e.g. if they touch an object then naming is typically simple)
What is apperceptive agnosia?
Failure to integrate the perceptual elements of the stimulus
Individual elements perceived normally
May be able to indicate discrete awareness of parts of a printed word but cannot organised into a whole
Damage to lower level occipital regions
What is associative agnosia?
Failure of retrieval of semantic information
Shape, colour, texture can all be perceived normally
Typically sensory specific e.g. if object touched, then recognised
Damage to higher order occipital regions
What does Humphreys & Riddoch’s hierarchical model (2001) of visual perception show?
Visual perceptual analysis -> Viewer centred representation -> Visual object recognition system -> Semantic system -> Name retrieval
In Humphreys & Riddoch’s hierarchical model (2001) of visual perception, what is affected in agnosia?
Visual perceptual analysis *AP AG -> Viewer centred representation *AP AG -> Visual object recognition system *AS AG -> Semantic system *AS AG -> Name retrieval
AP AG= apperceptive agnosia
AS AG= associative agnosia
Define: attention
Process of focusing conscious awareness
Providing heightened sensitivity to a limited range of experience requiring more intensive processing
2 processes= focus on a certain aspect and filter out other info
What are the two processes of attention?
Focus on a certain aspect
Filter out other info
What are the components of attention?
Focused attention (the spotlight) Divided attention (paying attention to more than one thing at once)
What stimulus factors affect attention?
Intensity Novelty Movement Contrast Repetition
What personal factors affect attention?
Motives Interests Threats Mood Arousal
What cognitive processes are intertwined with attention?
Memory and perception
ATTENTION (External stimuli-> sensory buffers)-> limited capacity short-term memory-> long-term memory-> responses
What are sensory buffers?
Register info for a few seconds which can be used to select which info info to focus on
There’s a limited capacity for short term memory but evidence that we can unconsciously perceive info not attended to
What is the cocktail party effect?
Cherry, 1953
Can focus our attention on one person’s voice in spite of all the other convos
When someone says your name- you hear that
How does attention relate to clinical skills?
Multi-tasking is easiest when skills are automatic and tasks are not too similar (e.g. writing an essay whilst listening to music)
BUT the more automatic a task, the less conscious control available
What happens when you use a phone whilst driving?
Slows reaction times
Less attention on sensory inputs
When do incorrect actions occur? (attention)
Correct response is not most habitual or strongest
Full attention not given to task
High levels of stress or anxiety present
What is MSS (Medical Student Syndrome)?
Psych condition amongst medical trainees that experience symptoms of the disease or diseases that they are studying
High workload, stress of exams, high anxiety related to new clinical experiences and exposure to medical knowledge
Leads to selective attention to physical symptoms and misinterpretation (e.g. I have X disease)-> preoccupation
How does attention relate to bodily symptoms?
Focus of attention contributes to the perception of our bodily symptoms
Treadmill study (Pennebaker & Lightner, 1980) 1st run= headphones with no sounds 2nd= amplified sounds of own breathing or street sounds
Symptoms worsened with breathing but massively reduced by street sounds
What is pain perception?
Pain is often an important sign that the body has been damaged or something is wrong
Acute pain= protects from damage or infection, expectation of perceived bodily symptoms
Chronic= can be from oversensitization/dysregulation
How is acute pain altered by expectation of perceived bodily symptoms?
Anderson & Pennebaker, 1980
Students were told vibrating sandpaper would be:
Painful (not painful)
Pleasant (neutral, towards not painful)
Not told anything (pain)
Expectation changes the response to the same stimulus
How does pain perception affect chronic pain?
External factors Pain behaviours Suffering Emotions Thoughts Pain sensation Tissue damage
Outline the Gate Theory of Pain (Melzak, 1999)
Pain signals compete to get through ‘gate’
‘Gate’ can be opened or closed by psychological and physical factors
Explains pain relief by ‘rubbing it better’
What is the fear-avoidance model of chronic pain?
Strong relationships between areas
- Pain
- Mood, thoughts and stress
- Day-to-day functioning (behaviour)
Pain breeds avoidance which perpetuates stress, low mood, anxiety etc.
What does ‘language is ubiquitous’ mean?
No humans yet discovered without language
Innate (Chomsky) or exposure (Putnam)?
What is a phoneme?
The smallest unit of speech sound in a language that can signal a difference in meaning
How many phonemes can humans produce? How many in English?
Humans can produce just over 100 phonemes
English language consists of 44 phonemes
What is a morpheme?
The smallest units of meaning in a language
Typically one syllable
Morphemes combined into words
What is syntax?
Rules and principles which govern the way in which morphemes and words can be combined to communicate meaning in a particular language
What is universal grammar?
Widely accepted theory that under normal conditions human beings will develop language with particular properties (e.g. distinguishing nouns from verbs)
What happens to children of speakers of pidgin languages?
Even though pidgin languages lack basic grammatical structures
They develop languages which are fully grammatical
Innate property of the brain results in this
Outline language development up to 12 months?
1-3 months= can distinguish speech from non-speech sounds and prefers speech sounds (phonemes)
Undifferentiated crying gives way to cooing when happy
4-6 months= babbling begins (vocalizations in response to verbalizations of others)
7-11 months= narrowing of babbling sounds to include only the phonemes heard in the language spoken by others in the environment
= child discriminate some words without understanding their meaning and begins to imitate word sounds heard from others
12 months= first recognizable words are spoken (e.g. dada)
Outline language development from 12 months to 5 years?
12-18 months= child increases knowledge of word meanings and begins to use single words to express whole phrases or requests (e.g. out, mostly nouns)
18-24 months= vocab expands betweens 50-100 words (rudimentary sentences e.g. more milk) without articles (the, a), conjuctions (and) or auxiliary verbs (can, will)
2-4 years= vocab expands rapidly at the rate of several hundred words every 6 months (linger sentences without grammar that exhibit basic language syntax)
4-5 years= child has learned the basic grammatical rules for combining nouns, adjectives, articles conjunctions and verbs into meaningful sentences
Outline Genie’s case?
‘Genie’ -was deprived of social interaction from birth until discovered aged 13
She was completely without language, and after seven years of rehabilitation still lacked linguistic competence
Is there a critical period in language acquisition?
Yes
How do genes affect language development?
Huge individual differences in language ability, some of which depend on genetic factors
E.g. KE family: across three generations about 50% suffer severe language problems (e.g. difficulties understanding speech, slow ungrammatical speech)
Associated with mutations of FOXP2 gene, also found in patients with similar language problems (MacDermot et al. 2005)
How is language affected by handedness?
Hemispheric specialization for language
95% of right-handed people have left-hemisphere dominance for language
18.8% of left-handed people have right-hemisphere dominance for language function
Additionally, 19.8% of the left-handed have bilateral language functions
Outline Broca’s aphasia
Non-fluent speech (expressive aphasia)
Impaired repetition
Poor ability to produce syntactically correct sentences
Intact comprehension
Outline Wernicke’s aphasia?
Problems in comprehending speech (input or reception of language)
Fluent meaningless speech
Paraphasias- errors in producing specific words
Semantic paraphasias-substituting words similar in meaning (“barn”-“house”)
Phonemic paraphasias-substituting words similar in sound (“house”-“mouse”)
Neologisms- non words (“galump”)
Poor repetition
Impairment in writing
How is language made up?
Phonemes Morphemes Words Phrases Sentence Discourse
Where are Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area?
Broca’s area is found in the inferior or front of the temporal lobe
It’s connected to Wernicke’s area by a bundle of nerve fibers called arcuate fasciculus
What does the arcuate fasciculus connect?
Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas
What aphasia is it if comprehension is intact but non fluent agency?
Broca’s aphasia
What aphasia is it if comprehension is impaired and non fluent agency?
Global aphasia
What aphasia is it if comprehension is impaired but expression is fluent?
Wernicke’s aphasia
Do Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas exist?
Modern findings show that rather than there being one key connective tract relevant to language function, there are many
Tremblay and Dick conclude that language function is incredibly widely distributed through the brain
What can lesions to the dominant hemisphere be caused by?
Stroke
Traumatic brain injury
Progressive neurodegenerative conditions (e.g. Alzheimer’s, fronto-temporal dementias, Parkinson’s)
What can transient aphasia be associated with?
TIA
Migraine
What is Dysexecutive Syndrome?
Dysexecutive syndrome involves the disruption of executive function and is closely related to frontal lobe damage
Encompasses cognitive, emotional, and behavioural symptoms
Can result from many causes including head trauma, tumours, degenerative diseases and cerebrovascular disease
What are executive functioning?
The skills that are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions and juggle multiple tasks successfully
Outline Phineas Gage’s case
Railway worker who got iron rod straight up into his skull
Changed his personality-> swearing, inappropriate etc.
Outline the Lezak (1995)case study
Intact IQ but initiating, correcting and self-regulating behaviours compromised
38 year old hand surgeon, hypoxic frontal damage during cardiac arrest
Intact IQ but initiating, correcting and self-regulating behaviours compromised
Was polite and responsive to questions, but volunteered nothing spontaneously and asked no questions
Affect remained unchanged regardless of topic
What are the behavioural and emotional aspects of dysexecutive syndrome?
Hypoactivity Lack of drive Apathetic Poor initiation of tasks Emotional bluntness
Hyperactivity Impulsive Disinhibited Perseverative Emotional dysregulation
Socially inappropriate
Rude, crass, prone to swearing
Theory of mind difficulties
Reduced empathy
What are the cognitive aspects of dysexecutive syndrome?
Attentional and working memory difficulties
Poor planning and organisation
Difficulty coping with novel situations and unstructured tasks
Difficulty switching from task to task
Difficulty keeping track of multiple tasks
Difficulty with complex/abstract thinking
Give an example of the inhibition task
Name the colour of the ink the word is presented in
Unless the word is underlined, then read the word
What is usually damaged in impairment syndromes?
Pre-frontal lobes and/or subcortical structure damage is associated with impairment syndromes in executive functions
What is developmental psychology?
Scientific study of changes that occur in people over the course of their life
Changes in thought, behaviour reasoning and functioning occur
Influenced by biological, individual and environmental influences
How are children treated as patients?
Dependent on their age/where they are developmentally
Affects how you communicate with, understand and relate to each other
How do heredity and environment influence human development?
Epigenetic
The baby is an interactive project not a self
powered one
Nature sets out their course via gender, genetics, temperament and maturational stages
Nurture shapes this predetermined course via the environment; parenting, stimulation and nutrition
What kind of responses are the ‘least hard wired’ in the animal kingdom?
Emotional responses
Are the least hard wired in the animal kingdom and the most influenced by experience
What does a baby recognise about their mother by 40 weeks?
Recognise their mother as a memory of her has been built up in utero
Via hearing, smell and taste
When can babies hear?
In the womb
Receptive hearing at 16 weeks
Functional hearing begins at 24 weeks
As a result, prefer their mothers’ voices to the voices of other women
What is functional hearing?
How baby’s use what hearing they have
Beings at 24th week of gestation
How do babies know the difference between languages?
Every language has its own characteristic rhythms and newborns can detect them
What smells can be recognised by babies?
Their own amniotic fluid
Maternal breast odours (prefer their mother’s)
Others smells associated with their mother
What can a newborn taste?
Sweet, umami, sour, bitter (they can’t taste salty until 4 months)
They particularly like very sweet sugar solutions (helps before painful procedure e.g. heel pricks) and glutamate (found in breast milk)
They don’t like some bitter and sour substances
What can a baby see?
Can’t see very well- newborn has blurry vision with sharpest visual acuity at the edges of the visual field
12-36h= prefer mothers' face to strangers Newborns= prefer faces and face-like stimuli (particularly faces with open eyes and happy face stimuli)
What is reciprocal socialisation?
Newborns prefer to look at expressive, responsive faces
Bidirectional- children socialise parents just as parents socialise children
Baby: cries moves, grimaces, smiles, calms, looks
Parent: mirrors, repeats, interprets, responds
What is scaffolding is reciprocal socialisation?
If parents responses supports or reinforces the infants efforts the infant will build on this interaction or experience and continue to develop in this area
Scaffolding can occur in lots of different types of interactions not just parent child
How can you test reciprocal socialisation?
Still Face paradigm, Tronick 1975
How do parents provide a supportive environment for development?
Scaffolding
Reciprocal socialisation
Provision of a stimulating and enriching environment
Internal working model (Bowlby, 1969) is established through this social process (baby coordinates his systems with those of the people around him)
How does a mother with depression affect her child?
Babies of depressed mothers adjust to low stimulation and get used to lack of positive feels
In the same way
- agitated mothers-> over aroused baby
- well managed babies-> expect a world that is responsive to feelings
What is the attachment theory?
Attachment theory= describes a biological instinct that seeks proximity to an attachment figure when threat is perceived or discomfort is experienced
i.e. sense of safety a child experiences provides a secure base from which they can explore their environment
Process begins before birth and is supported by reciprocal socialisation
What is the development of attachment over the 1st year?
Birth to 3M= prefers people to inanimate objects, indiscriminate proximity seeking e.g. clinging
3-8M= smiles discriminately to main caregivers
8-12M= selectively approaches main caregivers, uses social referencing / familiar adults as “secure base” to explore new situations; shows fear of strangers and separation anxiety
From 12M (corrected age)= the attachment behaviour can be measured reliably
What is the Strange Situation Test?
Ainsworth et al, 1978
Designed to present children with an unusual, but not overwhelmingly frightening, experience
It tests how babies or young children respond to the temporary absence of their mothers-> tests ATTACHMENT
Researchers are interested in two things:
- How much the child explores the room on his own
- How the child responds to the return of his mother
Shows if child is secure or insecure
How can you test attachment?
Strange situation test
What are the main attachment styles?
Secure (65%) vs insecure (35%)
Secure= formed in early infancy, they are a protective factor leading to resilience throughout the life span Insecure= place individual at risk (but not causative for later problems)
NB. Resistant-insecure (ambivalent) and disorganized-insecure
What is a securely-attached child?
Free exploration and happiness upon mother’s return
(The securely-attached child explores the room freely when Mum is present. He may be distressed when his mother leaves, and he explores less when she is absent. But he is happy when she returns. If he cries, he approaches his mother and holds her tightly. He is comforted by being held, and, once comforted, he is soon ready to resume his independent exploration of the world. His mother is responsive to his needs. As a result, he knows he can depend on her when he is under stress)
What is an insecurely-attached child?
Avoidant-insecure child with little exploration and little emotional response to mother
(The avoidant-insecure child doesn’t explore much, and he doesn’t show much emotion when his mother leaves. He shows no preference for his mother over a complete stranger and, when his mother returns, he tends to avoid or ignore her)
What is a resistant-insecure child?
Little exploration, great separation anxiety and ambivalent response to mother upon her return
(Like the avoidant child, the resistant-insecure child doesn’t explore much on her own. But unlike the avoidant child, the resistant child is wary of strangers and is very distressed when her mother leaves. When the mother returns, the resistant child is ambivalent. Although she wants to re-establish close proximity to her mother, she is also resentful- even angry- at her mother for leaving her in the first place. As a result, the resistant child may reject her mother’s advances)
What is a disorganized-insecure child?
Little exploration and confused response to mother
(The disorganized child may exhibit a mix of avoidant and resistant behaviours. But the main theme is one of confusion and anxiety. Disorganized-insecure children are at risk for a variety of behavioural and developmental problems)
What attachment style is most indicative of behavioural/developmental problem risk?
Disorganized-insecure
What does secure attachment promote?
Independence
Emotional availability
Better moods
Better emotional coping
What is secure attachment associated with?
Fewer behavioural problems
Higher IQ and academic performance
Contributes to a child’s moral development
Reduces child distress
What is secure attachment associated with in adolescence and adulthood?
Social competence Loyal friendships More secure parenting of offspring Greater leadership qualities Greater resistance to stress Less mental health problems such as anxiety and depression Less psychopathology e.g. schizophrenia
How does play affect child development?
Enriches brain
-> smarter brains and more BDNF
Brain derived neurotrophic factor- needed for growth and maintenance of brain cells
What are the benefits of play?
Engage and interact with world Create and explore own world Experience mastery and control Practice decision-making, planning Practice adult roles Promotes language development Promotes creative problem solving Overcome fears Develop new competencies Learn how to work in group Develop own interests Extend positive emotions Maintain healthy activity level
How do types of play change from birth to 6+ years?
Solitary, spectator, parallel play, associate, co-operative, competitive
0-2 years
SOLITARY= he plays alone- limited interaction with other children
2 to 2.5 years
SPECTATOR= observe other children playing around him but will not play with them
2.5-3 years
PARALLEL PLAY= alongside others but will not play together with them
3-4 years
ASSOCIATE= starts to interact with others in their play and there may be fleeting co-operation between in play
- Develops friendships and the preferences for playing with some but not all other children
- Play is normally in mixed sex groups
4-6 years
CO-OPERATIVE= plays together with shared aims of play with others
- Play may be quite difficult and he’s supportive of other children in his play
- As he reaches primary school age, play is normally in single sex groups
6+ years
COMPETITIVE= play often involves rules and has a clear “winner”
What is Piaget’s theory of cognition?
Proposed Piaget’s Stage Model
Proposed that children’s thinking changes qualitatively with age
As a result of an interactive of the brain’s biological maturation and personal experiences
Affects schemas
How does Piaget’s theory of cognition relate to schemas?
Development occurs as we acquire new schemas and as our existing schemas become more complex
Process of assimilation and accommodation which leads to adaptation
What is assimilation (according to Piaget)?
Incorporating new experience into existing schema
What is accommodation (according to Piaget)?
The difference made by the process of assimilation
What is adaptation (according to Piaget)?
Whereby new experiences cause existing schema to change
What are the stages Piaget describes?
Sensorimotor stage (0-2y)
Pre-operational stage (2-7y)
Concrete operational stage (7-12y)
What happens in the sensorimotor stage according to Piaget?
Birth to age 2; infants understand their world primarily through sensory experiences and physical (motor) interactions with objects
Object permanence
Gradually increasing use of words
Learning based on trial and error
What is object permanence?
The understanding that an object continues to exist even when it can’t be seen
What happens in the pre-operational stage according to Piaget?
The world is represented symbolically through words and mental images- no understanding of basic mental operation
Rapid language development
Understanding of the past and future
No understanding of the Principle of Conservation
Irreversible= can’t reverse actions
Animism begins
Egocentrism happens
What is animism?
Attributing lifelike qualities to physical objects and natural events
What is the Principle of Conservation?
Basic properties of objects stay the same even though their outward appearance may change
What is egocentrism?
Difficulty in viewing the world from someone else’s perspective
What happens in the Concrete Operational Stage according to Piaget?
Children can perform basic mental operations concerning problems that involve tangible (“concrete”) objects and situations
Understand the concept of reversibility
Display less egocentrism
Easily solve conservation problems
Trouble with hypothetical and abstract reasoning
What are the main limitations of Piaget?
Some researchers query whether children respond as they do to please the adult asking the question
Some argue the (repeated) question is so weird (as the answer is so obvious) the child thinks the adult wants or expects you to change the original answer– when more naturalistic ways of asking the questions were developed children performed much better
How does child development influence the child’s understanding of death?
<5y= Don’t understand that death is final, universal, will take euphemisms concretely, may think they have caused deat
.
5 to 10 years= gradually develop idea of death as irreversible, all functions ended, universal/unavoidable, more empathic to another’s loss; may be preoccupied with justice
10yrs to teens= understand more of long-term consequences, able to think hypothetically, draw parallels, review inconsistencies
Dependent on cognitive development and experience (pets, extended family members)
How do cognition, emotion and relationships change in adolescence?
Adolescence involves cognitive development and physical growth, as distinct from puberty, which can extend into the early twenties
Transition to formal operational stage
Chronological age only provides a rough marker of adolescence
What is adolescence?
Transitional stage of physical and psychological human development that generally occurs from puberty (biologically defined period of rapid maturation in which a person becomes capable of sexual reproduction) to legal adulthood (a social construction)
What is the Formal Operational Stage?
Follows adolescence
Where abstract thought emerges
Adolescent begins to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social and political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning
Begin to use deductive logic or reasoning from a general principle to specific information
What happens to the adaptive adolescent brain between age 12 and 25?
Extensive brain remodelling (myelinisation, synaptic pruning)
Cognitive changes may help journey from the secure world parent(s) provided to fitting into world created by peers
Thrill seeking Openness to new experiences Risk taking Social rewards are very strong Prefer own age company
Emotionality becomes less positive through early adolescence
But level off and become more stable by late adolescence
Storms and stress more likely during adolescence than rest of the lifespan but not characteristic of all adolescents
What is the psychological impact of long-term condition?
People with 1 LTC= 2-3x more likely to develop depression (than rest of population)
People with 3 LTC= 7x more likely to develop depression
Increased risk of CHD and mortality from this
Increased risk of death from MH problesm
What is the Self Regulatory Model (Leventhal, 1993)?
The model proposes that illness disrupts normality and the individual is motivated to return to a “normal”, healthy state
However, for patients who have a terminal illness the ability to return to health is not possible and coping becomes more about the psychological response to the inevitability of death and dying
What are stages in the self regulatory model?
Representation of health threat= identity, cause, consequence, timeline, cure/control
Stage 1= interpretation
Stage 2= coping
Stage 3= appraisal
Emotional response to health threat= fear, anxiety, depression
What is ‘interpretation’ in the self regulatory model?
The patient’s attempts to make sense of their perceived symptoms
What is ‘coping’ in the self regulatory model?
Adaptive and maladaptive ways of dealing with the problem in order to regain a sense of balance
What is ‘appraisal’ in the self regulatory model?
The assessment of how successful, or otherwise that the coping stage has been
What is Kubler-Ross’s Stage Theory?
Reactions to terminal illness
Outlined 5 reactions of the person facing death
1969
What are Dr Kubler-Ross’s 5 reactions to death?
Denial (often a psych defence to cushion the impact of grief)
Anger (why me?/unfair)
Bargaining (with nurses/G-d/family)
Depression (intense emotional pain- helplessness/sadness)
Acceptance (loss accepted, work to minimise loss and cope)
