Psychology Flashcards - Sheet1

Question

What is body dysmorphic disorder?

Answer 1

Individual has an unrealistic negative evaluation of his or her appearance and attractiveness (even if they are normal), usual towards a certain body part. Body preoccupation disrupts day-to-day life and sufferer may seek multiple plastic surgeries or other extreme interventions.

Answer 2

Occurs after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Consists of intrusion, avoidant, negative cognitive, and arousal symptoms.

Answer 3

Intrusion - recurrent reliving of the events (flashbacks or nightmares); Avoidant - deliberate attempts to avoid memories associated with trauma; Negative cognitive - inability to recall key features of the event, negative outlook on life; Arousal - increased startle response, irritability, anxiety, and reckless behavior.

Answer 4

Individual dissociates from his/her identity. Otherwise, person has still an intact sense of reality.

Answer 5

Characterized by inability to recall past experiences but not due to neurological disorders. Often linked to trauma. Individuals may also experience dissociative fugue (a sudden, unexpected move or purposeless wandering away from one's home or location of usual daily activities). Individuals in a fugue state often are confused about their identity or make up a new identity.

Answer 6

Formerly multiple personality disorder - two or more personalities that recurrently take control of a person's behavior. Components of an identity fail to integrate due to severe physical or sexual abuse when young.

Answer 7

Depersonalization - individuals feel detached from their own mind and body. Failure to recognize one's own reflection/out-of-body experience; Derealization - individuals feel detached from reality. World has a dream-like substance or insubstantial quality. No displays of psychotic symptoms like delusions or hallucinations.

Answer 8

At least one somatic symptom which may or may not be linked to an underlying medical condition, accompanied by disproportionate concerns about its seriousness, devotion of an excessive amount of time and energy, and increased anxiety.

Answer 9

Consumed with thoughts about having or developing a serious medical condition. Individuals with this disorder are quick to become alarmed with their health. They would either go to their healthcare provider everytime or avoid them completely. They have this disorder if somatic symptoms are not present.

Answer 10

Known as hysteria back in the day. Characterized by unexplained symptoms affective voluntary motor or sensory functions. Often experienced after a high-stress or traumatic event but may not develop until sometime has passed. Examples include paralysis or blindess.

Answer 11

Person may be unconcerned with the symptoms of conversion disorder.

Answer 12

Paranoid, Schizotypal, Schizoid, Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic, Avoidant, Dependant, and Obsessive-Comppulsive.

Answer 13

Paranoid PD - pervasive distrust of aothers and suspicion regarding their motives. Maybe prodormal schizophrenic. Schizotypal PD - patterns of odd or eccentric thinking; may have ideas of reference and magical thinking. For example, clairvoyance. Schizoid PD - detachment from social relationships and restricted range of emotional expression. Poor social skills.

Answer 14

Antisocial PD - diregard for others and violation of their rights. Evidenced by repeated illegal acts, deceitfulness, and lack of remorse. Think serial killer. Borderline PD - pervasive instability of interpersonal behaviour, mood, and self-image. Relationships are often intense and unpredictable. Uncertainty in long term goals, values, identity, and belief. May use splitting where others are all good or bad. Self mutilation common. Histrionic PD - highly extroverted, needs to be center of attention. May use seduction behavior to gain attention. Narcissitic PD - grandiose sense of self-importance or uniqueness. Seeks constant admiration or attention. Often have fragile self-esteem and insecure. Feelings of shame and inferiority when not viewed favourably.

Answer 15

Avoidant PD - extreme shyness and fear of rejection. Socially inept and socially isolated. Dependent PD - continuous need for reassurance. Remains dependent on one specific person to take actions or make decisions. Obsessive-compulsive PD - perfectionist, inflexible, likes rules and order, no sense of humour, lack desire for change, excessive stubborness. Type A persona.

Answer 16

Genetics, trauma at birth (hypoxemia), marijuana in adolescence, related to a family member with schizophrenia

Answer 17

Caused by high levels of dopamine. Dopamine receptor blockers for treatment. Structural changes also related.

Answer 18

Abnormally high glucose metabolism in amygala, hippocampal atrophy after long duration of illness, abnormally high levels of glucocorticoids (cortisol), and low levels of dopamine, serotonin, and noepinephrine (due to low production not inhibition, etc.)

Answer 19

Increased norepinephrine and serotonin levels, related to someone with bipolar disorder, and MS.

Answer 20

Gradual memory loss, disorientation to time and place, problems with abstract thought, and tendency to misplace things. Later stages include changes to mood, personality, difficulty with procedural memory, poor judgment, and loss of initiatives. Common >65 and women.

Answer 21

Mutations in presenilin genes (chr 1 and 14), apolipoprotein E (chr 19) and B-amyloid precursor proteins (chr 21). T21 at risk.

Answer 22

Reduction in levels of acetylcholine, metapolism in temporal and parietal lobes, plaques of b-amyloid, neurofibrillary tangles.

Answer 23

Characterized by bradykinesia, resting tremor, pill-rolling tremors, masklike facies, cogwheel rigidity, and shuffling gait.

Answer 24

Decreased dopamine production in the substantia nigra lreading to improper functioning of the basal ganglia. L-DOPA used to replace dopamine lost. Stem cells used to regenerate dopaminergic neurons.

Answer 25

Dopamine levels (high in schizo, low in PD). Antipsychotic medications often lead to parkinsonian side effects and vice-versa.

Answer 26

The sum of the ways in which we describe ourselves; in the present, who we used to be, who we want to be. Does not include the ought self or tactical self, which is what we are viewed based on other people/society.

Answer 27

Self-given label carries with it a set of qualities; for example, med student or athlete. Leads to specific conduct or act given the label.

Answer 28

Individual components of our self-concept related to the groups which we belong; for example, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and ethnic and national affiliations.

Answer 29

Self esteem is our evaluation of ourselves. Generally, the closer our actual self is to our ideal self and our ought self (who others want us to be), the higher our self esteem.

Answer 30

Self-efficacy is the degree to which we see ourselves as being capable at a given skill or in a given situation. When placed in a consistently hopeless scenario, self-efficacy can be diminished to the point where learned helplessness results. Highly critical individuals (perfectionists) tend to have high self-efficacy but low self-esteem.

Answer 31

Locus of control is a self-evaluation that reers to the way we characterize the influences in our lives. Internal locus of control see successes and failures as a result of their own characteristics and actions while external locus of control perceive outside factors as having more influence in their lives.

Answer 32

Androgyny - high masculinity and femininity scores. Undifferentiated - low masculinity and femininity scores.

Answer 33

Members typically share a common ancestry, cultural heritage, and language. Nationality is based on political borders.

Answer 34

Our identities are organized according to the hierarchy of salience such that we let the situation dictate which identity holds the most importance for us at any given moment. The more salient the identity, the more we conform to the role expectations of the identities. It is determined by a number of factors including the amount of work we have invested, the rewards and gratification associated with the identity, and the amount of self-esteem we have associated with the identity.

Answer 35

Human psychology and sexuality are linked. Libido is present at birth and this libidinal energy and the drive to reduce libidinal tension were the underlying dynamic forces that accounted for human psychological processes. Fixation occurs when a child is overindulged or overly frustrated during a stage of development. Fixation leads to neurosis.

Answer 36

Oral stage (0-1 years old). Fixation occurs with the mouth since gratification occurs through mouthing, biting, and sucking. An orally fixated adult would likely exhibit excessive dependency.

Answer 37

Anal stage (1-3 years old). Fixation occurs around the anus since gratification is gained through elimination and retention of waste materials. Potty training also occurs at this stage. Fixation leads to excessive orderliness (anal-retentiveness) or slopiness as adults.

Answer 38

Phallic stage (3-5 years old). Resolution of the Oedipal or Elektra conflict. Envious relationship of the child against the parent of same sex plus feelings of love for that parent leads to wanting to resolve the Oedipal or Elektra conflict. Libidnal energy is sublimated through schoolwork as well. Fixation at this stage - or failure to resolve the conlifts - leads to sexual dysfunction. Girls also have penis envy at this stage and are expected to exhibit less female behaviour and be less morally developed.

Answer 39

Latency stage (5-12 years old). Sublimated libido at this stage >> school work, etc. occupies the child's mind

Answer 40

Genital stage (12+). If previous stages have been successfully resolved, the person will enter into normal heterosexual relationships. If sexual traumas of childhood have not been resolved, such behaviours such as homosexuality, asexuality, or fetishism may be observed.

Answer 41

Personality development is based on a series of crises that derive from conflicts between needs and social demands. Emphasis on emotional development and interactions with social environment. Failure at resolving the conflict central to the stage is okay >> movement to next stage occurs >> but failure to do so leads to failure to gain the virtue at that stage. An individual carries the skills, traits, and virtue to subsequent stages.

Answer 42

Trust v. Mistrust (0-1 years old). If resolved, child will come to trust his environment and himself. If not, child will be suspicious of the world.

Answer 43

Autonomy v. Shame/Doubt (1-3 years old). If resolved, child will feel he is able to exert control over the world and exercise his/her choices. If not, sense of doubt and external locus of control will be present.

Answer 44

Initiative v. Guilt (3-6 years old). If resolved,child will have sense of purpose, ability to initiate activity, and enjoy accomplishments. If not, child is overcome by the fear of punishment >> leads to restrict himself or overcompensate by showing-off.

Answer 45

Industry v. Inferiority (6-12 years old). If resolved, child will feel competent, be able to exercise his or her abilities and intelligence, and affect the world in the way he/she desires. If not, leads to sense of inadequacy, inability to act in a competent manner, and low self-esteem.

Answer 46

Identity v. Role confusion (12-20 years old). The Physiological Revolution. If resolved, fidelity, ability to see oneself as unique, and integrated >> sustained loyalties. If not, confusion about one's identity.

Answer 47

Intimacy v. Isolation (20-40 years old). If resolved, leads to ability to love, have intimate relationships, and ability to commit onself to another person, and one's own goals. If not, avoidance of commitment, alienation, and distancing of oneself from others and one's ideals.

Answer 48

Generativity v. Stagnation (40-60 years old). If resolved, individual is capable of being productive, caring, and contributing member of society. If not, one acquires sense of stagnation, and may become self-indulgent, bored, and self-centered.

Answer 49

Integrity v. Despair (60+). If resolved, detached concern with life itself, assurance in the meaning of life, dignity, and acceptance of death. If not, feeling that life has been worthless and fear of impending death.

Answer 50

This is not focused on resolving conflict or urges but rather the development of moral thinking. As our cognitive abilities grow, so does our ability to think about and resolve dilemmas and perceive the notion of right and wrong >> growth of moral reasoning.

Answer 51

Heinz has a wife who is dying of a rare disease. There is a druggist in town who invented a drug that could cure the disease. It costs 200 to produce but he sells it for 2000. Heinz cannot afford this price. Ultimately, Heinz stole the drug to save his wife. Answers to this question led to Kohlberg determining the six levels of moral reasoning.

Answer 52

Preconventional morality. Typically observed in children. Places emphasis on the consequences of the moral choice. 1st Level - Obedience - concerned with avoiding punishment. 2nd Level - Self-interest - concerned with the rewards with the choice (often called Instrumental Relativist Stage).

Answer 53

Conventional morality. Typically observed in adolescents. Places emphasis on the relationship of the individual with others. 3rd Level - Conformity - Good girl/boy stage - seeks approval of others and what everyone deems correct and good. 4th Level - Law & Order - maintains social order in the highest regard (if everyone stole, then people who produce those items cannot continue their business).

Answer 54

Postconventional morality. Adulthood/Not everyone reaches this stage and is based on social mores and can conflict with the law. 5th Level - Social Contract - Views moral rules as conventions that are designed to ensure the greater good, with reasoning focused on the individual rights (everyone has a right to live, business have a right to make money >> ultimately, we should value the individual rights). 6th Level - Universal Human Ethics - decisions should be made in consideration of abstract principles built by that individuals - can go against law, order, and society (it is wrong for one person to hold another's life for ransom).

Answer 55

Postconventional morality is more prevalent on individualistic rather than collectivist society. Kohlberg's research was only performed using male subjects, which may cloud differences in reasoning patterns between men and women.

Answer 56

Focused on understanding cognitive development. The engine driving cognitive development was the child's internalization of various aspects of culture: rules, symbols, language, and so on. Also known for his concept of zone of proximal development referring to skills and abilities not yet fully developed but are in the process of development. Gaining these skills requires the presence/help of a more knowledgeable other. Language also plays a big role is an accelerant to learning.

Answer 57

Ability to sense how another mind works. Once this develops, we begin to recognize and react to how others think about us.

Answer 58

Others play a role in how we view ourselves. Cooley thought that everyone influences our self identity. Mead thought only some people can influence our self identity.

Answer 59

The me is the social self. How the generalized other and society sees us. The I is the response to the me. The I thinks about what others think about us and steps in and makes adjustment to respond to the me.

Answer 60

Cooley believed we are not actually being influenced by others but instead by what we imagine what others think about us (correct or incorrect perception about us). It is the combination of our own direct contemplation and what we believe others believe about us that leads to the development of our self identity. Our reactions to how others perceive us - maintaining, modifying, downplaying, or accentuating different aspects of our personality. Relies on others reflecting ourselves back to ourselves.

Answer 61

Young children observe and encode the behaviours they see in others. The prepatory stage is imitation. The play stage is role-taking and pretend play. The game stage is the beginning to understand the generalized other (people perform in ways society expects them, people have multiple roles, people have different opinion of others).

Answer 62

Personality is the set of thoughts, feelings, traits, and behaviours that are characteristic of an individual across time and different locations. There are four categories: pyschoanalytic (psychodynamic), humanistic (phenomenological), type and trait, and behaviourist.

Answer 63

Views personality as resulting from unconscious urges and desires

Answer 64

Emphasizes the internal feelings of healthy individuals as they strive towards happiness and self-realization.

Answer 65

Personality can be described as a number of identifiable traits that carry characteristic behaviour.

Answer 66

Based on operant conditioning // holds that personality can be described as the behaviours one has learned from prior rewards and punishments.

Answer 67

Holds that individuals interact with their environment in a cycle called reciprocal determinism. People mold their environments according to their personalities, and those environments in turn shape our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

Answer 68

Consists of all the basic, primal, inborn urges to survive and reproduce. Functions according to the pleasure principle in which the aim is immediate gratification to relieve any pent up tension. The primary process is the id's response to frustration: obtain satisfaction now, not later. Mental imagery that fulfills this need for satisfaction is termed wish fulfillment (daydream/fantasy).

Answer 69

Ego is the organizer of the mind: it receives its power from but can never really be fully independent of the id. Ego operates according to the reality principle, taking into account objective reality as it guides or inhibits the activity of the id and the id's pleasure principle. This guidance is called the secondary process >> postpone pleasure until satisfaction is actually obtained (not just mental imagery). Also responsible for moderating the desire of the superego.

Answer 70

Personality's perfectionist, judging our actions and responding with pride at our accomplishments and guilt at our failures. The conscience is a collection of impromer actions for which a child is punished. Ego ideal consists of actions for which a child is rewarded.

Answer 71

The id lives in the unconscious. The ego lives in the conscious/preconscious. The superego lives in all three conscious states.

Answer 72

Innate psychological representation of a biological need.There are life and death instincts. Life - promote survival, thirst, hunger, sex. Death - unconscious wish for death and destruction (trauma victims reenacting or focusing on their traumatic experiences).

Answer 73

Repression, suppression, regression, reaction formation, projection, sublimation, displacement, and rationalization. Repression - undesired thoughts and urges to the unconscious. Suppression - conscious form of forgetting. Regression - reversion to an earlier developmental stage. Reaction formation - suppress urges by unconsciously converting them into their exact opposites. Projection - individuals attribute their undesired feelings to others (I hate my parents > My parents hate me). Rationalization - justification of behaviours in a manner that is acceptable to self and society. Displacement - transference of an undesired urge from one person or object to another (boss angry at him > him angry at dog). Sublimation - transformation of unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behaviours.

Answer 74

Not focused on sexuality. He divided the unconscious into a personal unconscious (similar to Freud's unconscious) and a collective unconscious - a powerful system that is shared among all humans and considered to be a residue of the experiences of our early ancestors. These archetypes build the collective unconscious.

Answer 75

The mask we wear in public and is part of the personality we present to the world

Answer 76

A man's inner woman - explains emotional behaviour in men

Answer 77

A woman's inner man - explains power-seeking behaviour in women

Answer 78

Unpleasant and socially reprehensible thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Answer 79

The point of intersection between the collective unconscious, personal unconscious, and conscious mind.

Answer 80

He was focused on the immediate social imperatives of family and society and their effects on unconscious factors. He was the originator of the concept of inferiority complex: an individual's sense of incompleteness, imperfection, and inferiority both physically and socially. According to Adler, striving for superiority drives personality. This striving enhances the personality when it is oriented towards benefiting society but yields disorder when it is selfish.

Answer 81

Creative self - force by which each individual shapes his uniqueness and establishes his personality. Style of Life - manifestation of creative self and describes a person's unique way of achieving superiority.

Answer 82

Individuals with neurotic personalities are governed by one of ten neurotic needs. Horney also had a primary concept - basic anxiety. Child's early perception of self is important and stems from a child's relationship with his/her parents. Inadequate parenting can cause vulnerability and helplessness - basic anxiety. Neglect and rejection - basic hostility. There are certain strategies involved and healthy individuals use them but a child with basic hostility/anxiety will use only one of these strategies rigidly and exclusively.

Answer 83

Objects refers to the representation of parents or other caregivers based on subjective experiences during early infancy. These objects then persist into adulthood and impact our interactions with others, including the social bonds we create and our predictions of other's behaviours.

Answer 84

Practitioners take a holistic view of the self, seeing each individual as a complete person rather than reducing him/her to individual behaviours/drives.

Answer 85

Focused on situations in the present. Lewin defined the field as one's current state of mind, which was simply the sum of the forces on the individual at that time. How do individual's reach self-realization? Look at the forces acting on their field; those assisting in the attainment and those blocking paths to goals.

Answer 86

Self-actualizers have peak experiences that have important and last effects on the individual. They share several characteristics (CHOPS) > creativity, humour, originality, privacy, and spontaneity. Maslow studies Einstein, Roosevelt, and Beethoven to see if there was a pattern with these successful people.

Answer 87

Individuals are scientists who are trying to gauge the reaction of their environment and the behaviour of others using personal constructs (what they know about behaviour and experience with the environment). For example, an anxious person rather than being the victim of inner conflicts and pent-up energy is one who is having difficulty constructing and understanding the variables in the environment. Psychotherapy helps people acquire and apply new constructs.

Answer 88

His technique of client-centred, person-centered, or nondirective therapy. Rather than providing solutions or diagnoses, the therapist helps the client reflect on problems, make choices, generate solutions, take positive actions, and determine his/her own destiny. Aim is help clients reconcile the differences between the varios selves and reduce stress-inducing incongruence.

Answer 89

Therapeutic technique by Rogers by which the therapist accepts the client completely and expresses empathy in order to promote a positive therapeutic environment.

Answer 90

Type theorists >> there is a taxonomy of different personality types. Trait theorists >> there are different traits that make up a person's personality.

Answer 91

Ancient Greek - personality type based on body fluids, and imbalance leads to various personality disorders. 1. Yellow bile (aggressive and dominant) 2. Blood (impulsive and charismatic) 3. Phlegm (relaxed and affectionate) 4. Black bile (depressive and cautious)

Answer 92

William Sheldon prooposed that personality types were based on body types. Tall people - high-strung and aloof // Short people - jolly // Med people - strong and well-adjusted.

Answer 93

Type A - competitive and compulsive. Type B - laid-back and relaxed.

Answer 94

People can be categorized based on different traits. 1. Psychoticism (measure of nonconformity or social deviance) 2. Extraversion (measure of tolerance for social interaction. 3. Neuroticism (measure of emotional arousal in stressful situations).

Answer 95

Openess, Conscienstiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Answer 96

There are cardinal, primary, and secondary traits. Not everyone develops a cardinal trait but everyone has central and secondary traits. Central traits represent major characteristics of the personality such as honesty and charisma. Secondary traits are characteristics that are more limited in occurrence; for example, occurs during a specific social situation or group. Another major part of Allport's theory is the concept of functional autonomy - behaviour continues despite satisfaction of the drive that originally created the behaviour. For example, hunting for food becomes hunting for sport.

Answer 97

People who are highly rated in N-Ach have a high need for achievement. They tend to be concerned with achievement and have pride in their accomplishments. They avoid high risk (to avoid failing) and low risk (no reward/achievement) goals. They set realistic goals and stop striving towards a goal if success is unlikely.

Answer 98

Instinct, Drive-Reduction, Arousal, Needs Theory

Answer 99

People are driven to do certain behaviours based on evolutionarily programmed instincts. It was derived from Darwin's theory of evolution. An instinct is an innate fixed pattern of behaviour in response to a stimulus. The greatest proponent of this theory was McDougall who proposed that humans were driven to all thoughts and behaviours by 18 distinctive instincts.

Answer 100

We are driven/motivated to maintain the optimal level of arousal. Arousal is the psychological and physiological state of being awake and reactive to stimuli. The Yerkes-Dodson law postulates a U-shaped function between level of arousal and performance (see Social Facilitation).

Answer 101

Drives are defined as internal states of tension that activate particular behaviours focused on goals. Drives help humans survive by creating an uncomfortable internal state, ensuring motivation to eliminate this state or to relieve tension created by it. Primary drives are those that motivate us to sustain necessary biological functions. Secondary drives are those that drive us to fulfill emotional desires.

Answer 102

Negative feedback loop. When our bodies are lacking nutrients and energy, feedback systems release hormones like ghrelin that create the hunger drive and motivate eating. After we consume food, feedback is sent to the brain to turn off the hunger drive by releasing leptin.

Answer 103

Motivation can be described as how we allocate our energy and resources to best satisfy needs. Motivation determines which behaviours are most important to pursue, how much effort will be taken, and for how long the effort will be maintained.

Answer 104

1. Physiological 2. Security 3. Love 4. Self-esteem 5. Self-actualization. Motivation is towards the lowest level needs.

Answer 105

Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion

Answer 106

Security of body, employment, resources, morality, family, health, and property

Answer 107

Friendship, family, sexual intimacy

Answer 108

Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others

Answer 109

Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem-solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts

Answer 110

Emphasizes the role of three universal needs: Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness. These must be met in order to develop healthy relationships with oneself and others.

Answer 111

Explains behaviour is motivated not by need or arousal but by the desire to pursue rewards and avoid punishments.

Answer 112

The amount of motivation needed to reach a goal is the result of both the individual's expectation of success in reaching the goal and the degree to which he or she values succeeding at the goal.

Answer 113

Explains continuous drug use. When a druf is taken repeatedly, the body will attempt to counteract the effects of the drug by changing its physiology (opposite that of the drug). Alcohol, which is a depressant, leads to arousal. Also explains tolerance >> decrease drug effectivity over time.

Answer 114

Physiological, Behavioural, and Cognitive.

Answer 115

Happiness, Sadness, Surprise, Anger, Contempt, Fear, Disgust

Answer 116

Emotions are thought to be evolutionary adaptations due to situations encountered over the evolutionary history of the human species that guide sensory processing, physiological response, and behaviour. Fear is early in evolution whereas guilt and pride are later.

Answer 117

James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and Schachter-Singer.

Answer 118

1.Stimulus 2. Physiological Response 3. Cognitive Emotion. Peripheral organs receive the information and respond, and that response is then labeled as an emotion. For example, I see a snake. My heart is racing and my eyes widen. These physiological changes leads to my feeling of fear. However, this has been discredited because patients with spinal cord injuries should show decreased levels of emotion >> they don't.

Answer 119

1. Stimulus 2. Physiological and Cognitive Emotion response. Physiological arousal and feeling an emotion occurs AT THE SAME TIME, not in sequence. Thus, severing the feedback should not alter the emotion experienced. For example, I see a snake and my heart is racing and my eyes are wide AND I am afraid. Sensory information is received and sent to both the cortex and sympathetic nervous systems simultaneously. This fails to explain the vagus nerve, which is a feedback system conveying information from the peripheral organs back to the central nervous system.

Answer 120

Also called the cognitive arousal or the two-factor theory. 1. Stimulus 2. Physiological Response AND Cognitive Appraisal of the Environment 3. Cognitive emotion. Both arousal and labeling of arousal based on environment must occur in order for an emotion to be experienced. One must consciously analyze the environment in relation to the nervous system arousal. Presence of an unexpected arousal plus an environment that encourages a particular emotion is sufficient to create that emotion in the subject.

Answer 121

Limbic system. Made up of the amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, fornix, septal nuclei, and parts of the cerebral cortex.

Answer 122

Signals the cortex about stimuli related to attention and emotions. It processes the environment, detects external curs, and learns from the person's surroundings.

Answer 123

Preliminary sensory processing station and routes information to the cortex and other appropriate areas of the brain.

Answer 124

Synthesizes and releases a variety of neurotransmitters. Serves many homeostatic functions and is involved in modulating emotion.

Answer 125

Primarily involved in creating long term memories.

Answer 126

Explicit and Implicit Memory systems. Both are used for the formation and retrieval of emotional memories.

Answer 127

Primarily controlled by the hippocampus. Memory of experiencing the actual emotion. It is the conscious memory of the event.

Answer 128

Primarily controlled by the amygdala. Emotional memory. Storage of the actual feelings of emotion associated with an event. Determines the expression of past emotions.

Answer 129

Ability to distinguish and interpret others' facial expressions. Right hemisphere is more active.

Answer 130

Planning intricate cognitive functions, expressing personality, and making decisions.

Answer 131

Left - positive emotions. Right - negative emotions.

Answer 132

Attention and cognition

Answer 133

Connects regions of the brain responsible for expriencing emotion.

Answer 134

Substantial role in decision-making and controlling emotional responses from the amygdala.

Answer 135

Skin temp, heart rate variability, blood pulse volume, blood pressure, etc.

Answer 136

Cognitive appraisal is the subjective evaluation of a situation that induce stress. There is the primary appraisal - is the threat irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful. There is the secondary appraisal - will this event cause harm, is this event a threat (future harm), and is this event a challenge (able to overcome? possible benefit?). Reappraisal occurs constantly.

Answer 137

Distress - unpleasant stressors. Eustress - result of positive conditions.

Answer 138

Sequence of physiological responses consisting of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.The Fight or Flight response.

Answer 139

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Hypothalamus stimulated to secrete ACTH >> stimulates adrenalg glands to produce cortisol >> maintains steady supply of blood sugar to body. Adrenal medulla activate to secrete epinephrine and norepinephrine.

Answer 140

Continuous release of hormones allowing the sympathetic nervous system to stay engaged.

Answer 141

Body can no longer maintain elevated response. Susceptibility to illnesses and medical conditions.

Answer 142

Problem-focused - reaching out to family and friends, confronting the issue head-on, and creating and following a plan of problem-solving actions. Emotionally-focused - center on changing one's feelings about a stressor. Taking responsibility, engaging in self control, distancing oneself from the issue, engaging in wishful thinking and using positive reappraisal.

Answer 143

How our brains process and react to information

Answer 144

The human brain is compared to a computer in terms of how information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. It is theorized that the brain encodes information into a series of chemical and electrical signals, stores this information, and creates a process in which it is retrieved

Answer 145

1. Thinking requires sensation, encoding, and storage of stimuli. 2. Stimuli must be analyzed by the brain to be useful in decision-making. 3. Decisions made in one situation can be extrapolated and adjusted to help solve new problems. 4. Problem-solving is dependent not only on the person's cognitive level but also on the context and complexity of the problem.

Answer 146

1. 0-2 years old; sensorimotor. 2. 2-7 years old; preoperational. 3. 7-11 years old; concrete operational. 4. 11+ years old; formal operational.

Answer 147

Adaptation is how new information is processed. There are two processes: Assimilation is how the new information is adapted into an existing schema. Accommodation is how existing schemata are modified to encompass this new info (only if the new information does not fit into already existing schemata).

Answer 148

Child learns to manipulate environment to meet physical needs. Comprises of primary and secondary circular motions. Primary circular motions are repetition of body movements for certain needs; for example, sucking thumb for comfort. Secondary circular motions are using external objects to gain attention of caretakers (response from environment). The key milestone is the end of object permanence in which the child understands that the object still exist when it is outside their field of view.

Answer 149

This occurs between the age of 2-7. In this stage, the child exhibits egocentrism, centration (does not understand conservation), and symbolic thinking. Symbolic thinking is the ability to pretend play, make-believe, and use her/his imagination. Egocentrism is the inability to think about what others are feeling/thinking. Centration is the tendency to focus only on one aspect of the phenomenon. It is the inability to think that the mass or state of the object is conserved. For example, two identical glass containing a fluid is compared and are known to be even. Pouring one glass into a tall, skinny glass shows that the level of the fluid in this glass is higher. The child focuses on the height difference and notes that a particular glass either has more/less fluid.

Answer 150

This occurs between the ages of 7-11. In this stage the child learns the concept of conservation and the thoughts/feelings of others. Essentially, they grow out of their preoperational stage. They are able to engage in logical thought as long as they are working with concrete objects or information that is directly available. They also are unable to think abstractly.

Answer 151

This occurs at age 11+. The child learns to think abstractly and hold several different information in their brain to determine a logical outcome.

Answer 152

Very much related. Culture determines what one is expected to learn. Some cultures place a higher value on social learning while others value knowledge. Also, depending on the culture, the rate of cognitive development may differ.

Answer 153

Reaction time increases steadily and time-based prospective memory decline with age. Some decline in fluid and crystallized intelligence have also been observed.

Answer 154

Ability to problem-solve using existing knowledge to solve new problems.

Answer 155

Ability to problem solve using existing knowledge to know problems; use of learned skills and knowledge.

Answer 156

Dementia, Alzheimer's, brain disorders, genetics and chromosomal conditions, metabolic derangements, and long-term drug use. The environment can also affect both cognitive development and day-to-day cognition.

Answer 157

Delirium is the rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical causes such as electrolyte and pH imbalance, malnutrition, blood sugar level, infection, drug reaction, alcohol withdrawal, and pain.

Answer 158

Tendency to approach similar problems in the same way. Using your problem-solving skills to tackle similar problems. Once solutions have been tested, we evaluate results, and consider other potential solutions.

Answer 159

Inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner.

Answer 160

Trial-and-Error - various solutions are attempted until one works. Algorithms - formula or procedure is followed until a desired solution is produced. Deductive Reasoning - using general logical rules, conclusions are drawn and a solution is generated. Inductive Reasoning - create a theory via generalization. Start with a specific instance and draw generalization/conclusion from them.

Answer 161

Heuristic is a rule of thumb, a simplified principle to make a decision. There are two types: availability and representativeness.

Answer 162

A shortcut in decision-making that relies on the information that is most readily available, rather than the total body of information on a subject. For example, solving a multiple choice question based on the familiarity of the answer rather than answering the question posed. Another example would be thinking that you would be fired since there are people getting fired in other departments.

Answer 163

A shortcut in decision-making that relies on categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative image of the category. For example, the probability that a coin will land heads given that it landed heads 10 times in a row. Our guess may be skewed given what is currently represented.

Answer 164

Using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information.

Answer 165

Evidence obtained from testing demonstrated that the solution does not work.

Answer 166

Tendency to focus on information that fits an individual's beliefs and rejecting other information that goes against them.

Answer 167

Inability to reject particular beliefs despite clear evidence to the contrary.

Answer 168

Ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence.

Answer 169

Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, musical, and visual-spatial

Answer 170

Intelligence Quotient = your mental age/chronological age x100

Answer 171

Alertness, Sleep, Dreaming, and Altered States of Consciousness.

Answer 172

Higher cortisol levels, EEG waves indicate an awakaned state.

Answer 173

Neurological units in the prefrontal cortex. Communication with the reticular formation keeps the cortex awake and alert.

Answer 174

EEG waves seen in conscious, alert states. Waves have a high frequency and occur when the person is alert.

Answer 175

EEG waves seen in relaxed but awake individuals (closing your eyes for example). Alpha waves are lower frequency and more synchronized.

Answer 176

Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, (<< all NON-REM SLEEP) and REM sleep.

Answer 177

In Stage 1, theta waves are observed. Waves comprised of irregular waveforms and slower frequencies.

Answer 178

In Stage 2, theta waves are observed along side k-complexes (very high voltage waveform) and sleep spindles (rapid frequency, high voltage waveform).

Answer 179

In Stage 3 and 4 also known as slow-wave sleep, delta waves are observed. These are slow frequency, high voltage waveforms (few sleep waves per second). Moreover, it is very hard to awake someone during this stage. Dreams and sleep conditions also occur on this stage. Declarative memory consolidation and cognitive recovery occurs during this stage.

Answer 180

REM is rapid eye movement. In this stage, the arousal levels reach that of wakefulness and the EEG patterns mimic wakefulness but the individual's muscles are paralyzed and they are still asleep. This is also called paradoxical sleep. Dreaming is most likely to occur during this stage and it is associated with procedural memory consolidation.

Answer 181

Early in the night, SWS predominates as the brain falls into deep sleep and then into more wakefulness (1-2-3-4-3-2-1-REM). Later in the night, REM sleep predominates (1-2-REM or 1-2-1-REM, etc).

Answer 182

Waking and sleeping is regulated by internally generated rhythms. Sleepiness > melatonin released from pineal gland. Retina is connected to the hypothalamus, which controls the pineal gland. Less light = more melatonin. Awakeness > cortisol released from adrenal gland. Light causes release of corticotropin releasing factor > releases adrenocorticotropic hormone > releases cortisol.

Answer 183

1. Activation-Synthesis 2. Problem-Solving Dream 3. Cogitive Process Dream

Answer 184

Dreams are caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuitry. This can mimic incoming sensory information and may also consist of pieces of stored memories, current and previous desires, met and unment needs, and other experiences.

Answer 185

Dreams are a way to problem solve. Allows interpretation of obstacles differently than waking hours.

Answer 186

Stream of consciousness while awake is also replicated while sleeping.

Answer 187

Dyssomnias occur when trying to to sleep, stay asleep, or avoiding sleep; examples include insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. Parasomnias occur during stage 3/4 and lead to problems during sleep; for example, night terrors and sleep walking.

Answer 188

Hypnagogic - hallucinations when going to sleep. Hypnopompic - hallucinations when popping out of sleep.

Answer 189

GABA is a neurotransmitter that binds to this receptor. By causing hyperpolarization, it leads to a decrease in the communication/activation of CNS since the cell is inherently more negative and even the addition of a positive ion (glutamate/excitatory neurotransmitter) won’t trigger action potential.

Answer 190

Depressants reduce nervous system activity resulting in a sense of relaxation and reduced anxiety. They do this by activating the GABA receptor. Physiologically, you observe generalized brain inhibition leading to lowered logical reasoning and motor skills. Examples are alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines.

Answer 191

Stimulants cause an increase in arousal in the nervous system. These drugs increase the frequency of action potentials. Physiological symptoms include - reduction in appetite, decreased need for sleep, increased heart rate, and increased blood pressure. Psychological symptoms include euphoria, hypervigilance, anxiety, delusions of grandeur, and paranoia. Examples include amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy. Cocaine has anesthetic and vasoconstrictive properties. Ecstasy or MDMA is also a hallucinogen.

Answer 192

Opiates are naturally-occurring whereas opioids are synthetically derived. These compounds bind to opioid receptors causing decreased reaction to pain and a sense of euphoria. Overdose can lead to death by respiratory suppression. Heroin was the most widely used but now has shifted to prescription like oxycodone and hydrocodone.

Answer 193

Exact mechanism of most hallucinogens is unknown but is thought to be a complex interaction between various neurotransmitters, especially serotonin. These drugs typically cause distortions of reality and fantasy, enhancement of sensory experiences, and introspection. Physiological effects include increased blood pressure, heart rate, dilation of pupils, sweating, and increased body temp. Examples include LSD, peyote, ketamine, and mushrooms containing psilocybin.

Answer 194

Marijuana refers to the leaves and flowers of the plant species Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica. The active chemical is known as THC. It exerts its effects by acting on cannabinoid, glycine, and opioid receptors. It triggers GABA and dopamine activity. Physiologically it causes eye redness, dry mouth, fatigue, impairment of short term memory, increased heart rate, appetite, and lowered blood pressure. It is a depressant, stimulant, and a hallucinogen.

Answer 195

One of four dopaminergic pathwys in the brain including the Nucleus Accumbens, Ventral Tegmental Area, and the Medial Forebrain Bundle. Positively reinforces substance abuse due to the release of dopamine.

Answer 196

Selective - focus on one stimuli and avoiding all others. Information is filtered to allow some stimuli through like sound, movement, etc. Divided - performing multiple tasks/stimuli at the same time. Divided utilizes controlled processing. Automatic processing can be used for familiar or routine actions such as driving, cooking, etc.

Answer 197

Phonology (how actual language sounds). Morphology (structure of words). Semantic (association of meaning with a word). Syntax (how words are put together to form sentences). Pragmatics (dependence of language on context and pre--existing knowledge; manner which we speak differs depending on the audience).

Answer 198

Rhythm, cadence, and inflenction of our voices.

Answer 199

9-12 months - Babbling. 12-18 months - one word/month. 18-20 months - explosion of language, two-words put together. 2-3 years - longer sentences (3+words). 5 years - language rules largely mastered.

Answer 200

Nativist (Biological) Theory, Learning (Behaviorist) Theory, and Social Interactionist Theory

Answer 201

By Noam Chomsky. Everyone has an innate ability - language acquisition device - that allows infacts to process and absorb language rules. Nativists believe in a critical period for language acquisition (2-puberty) in that if no language acquisition occurs during this time, later training is largely ineffective. Indicates that there is a sensitive period for language development when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of an ability.

Answer 202

By BF Skinner. Explains language acquisition by operant conditioning and reinforcement. Parents and caretakers repeat and reinforce sounds that sound most like the language spoken by the parents. Over time, the infant perceives that certain sounds have little value and are not reinforced. Does not fully explain the explosion in vocab that occurs during early childhood.

Answer 203

Language development focuses on the interplay between biological and social processes. Language acquisition driven by the child's desire to communicate and behave in a social manner such as interacting with caretakers and other children. As child interacts with others, certain brain circuits are reinforced while other are de-emphasized resulting in atrophy of those circuits.

Answer 204

Our perception of reality - how we think about the world - is determined by the content of language. Language affects the way we think rather than the other way around. Since language provides the orignal framework for understanding information, our thinking is built upon how that framework is built.

Answer 205

Broca - controls the motor function of speech. Wernicke - language comprehension. Arcuate Fasciculus - allows appropriate association between language comprehension and speech production.

Answer 206

Reduce or absent ability to produce spoken language.

Answer 207

Comprehension of speech is lost meaning that patients speak nonsensical sounds and inappropriate word combos.

Answer 208

Inability to repeat something that has been said

Answer 209

Deficit in language production or comprehension.

Answer 210

Anything to which an organism can respond, including sensory inputs.

Answer 211

Habituation is the reduction in response to a stimulus that is repeated over time. For example, the sound of an alarm becoming background noise.

Answer 212

Recovery of a response to a stimulus after habituation has occurred. Dishabituation is temporary and always refers to changes in response to the original stimulus, not the new one.

Answer 213

Associative learning (classical and operant condition) and observational learning.

Answer 214

Takes advantage of biological and instinctual responses to create associations between two unrelated stimuli. It works because some stimuli causes an innate or reflexive physiological response. The stimuli and response is called unconditioned stimuli and unconditioned response, respectively. A neutral stimuli is a stimuli that does not produce a response. In classical conditioning, the neutral stimuli turns into a conditioned stimuli by pairing it with an unconditioned stimuli, thereby resulting in the unconditioned response being a conditioned response. This is also referred to as acquisition.

Answer 215

Extinction occurs when a conditioned stimuli is used enough times without the unconditioned stimulus thereby resulting in the loss of the conditioned response (as the individual habituates to the stimuli). Spontaneous recovery is the phenomenon in which an extinct conditioned stimuli results into a weak conditioned response.

Answer 216

Generalization is the broadening effect by which a stimulus similar enough to the conditioned stimulus can also produce a conditioned response. Discrimination is the ability to distinguish between stimuli thereby allowing only a specific conditioned stimuli to trigger a conditioned response.

Answer 217

Links voluntary behaviours to reinforcements and punishments in an effort to alter the frequency of those behaviours. It is associated with BF Skinner.

Answer 218

Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Positive Punishment, and Negative Punishment.

Answer 219

Increase the behaviour by adding a stimulus. In general, positive reinforces increase a behaviour by adding a positive consequence or incentive. For example, employees will continue to work if they are paid.

Answer 220

Increase the behaviour by removing a stimulus. In general, you increase the frequency by removing something unpleasant. For example, if you have a headache, you take an aspirin. So you are continuing a behaviour (taking an aspirin) to remove a stimulus (headache - unpleasant). Negative reinforcers can be divided into escape learning (reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists, like headaches) and avoidance learning (prevent unpleasantness of something that is yet to happen).

Answer 221

Paired with a primary reinforcer to elicit the same response as the behaviour wanted. This pairs classical conditioning with operant conditioning.

Answer 222

Stops a behaviour by adding a stimulus. For example, you stop thieves from stealing with the threat of the law/getting arrested.

Answer 223

Stops a behaviour by removing a stimulus. For example, your daughter always stays up late so you restrict/remove her phone use so that she goes to bed earlier.

Answer 224

Fixed-ratio, Variable-ratio, Fixed-Interval, and Variable-Interval.

Answer 225

In fixed-ratio schedules, the behaviour is reinforced in a fixed schedule, meaning after a specific number of performances of that behaviour. For example, a reward after every second successful performance of the behaviour. Often there is a brief moment of no response after the behaviour is reinforced as the subject figures out what needs to be done to gain the reinforcer.

Answer 226

A fixed-ratio schedule in which the behaviour is rewarded every time it is performed.

Answer 227

In variable-ratio schedules, the behaviour is reinforced in a variable schedule, meaning after a varied number of performances of that behaviour, a reward is given. For example, after 6 successful acts, the reward is given. Then, after 10 successful acts, the reward is given. Then, after 2 successful acts, the reward is given. However, the average number of performances is relatively constant. This has the fastest response rate for learning a new behaviour and is also the most resistant to extinction. Another example is gambling.

Answer 228

In fixed-interval schedules, there is a set amount of time given to perform a behaviour and receive a reward. That interval is fixed. Subsequent attempts of acts of the target behaviour within that interval will not be rewarded. Often there is a brief moment of no response after the behaviour is reinforced as the subject figures out what needs to be done to gain the reinforcer.

Answer 229

In variable-interval schedules, the interval times are varied so you can have 2min to perform the behaviour, then 8min, then 4min, etc. Once the interval lapses, the next act within the next interval gets the reward.

Answer 230

Process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviours. For example, dog training.

Answer 231

It is learning that occurs without a reward but is spontaenously demonstrated once a reward is introduced.

Answer 232

Preparedness is predisposition to learning based on natural abilities and instincts. Instinctive drift is difficulty in overcoming instinctual behaviour, and thus difficulty in learning a behaviour.

Answer 233

Process of learning a new behaviour or gaining information by watching others. Mirror neurons are located in the frontal and parietal lobes of the cerebral cortex and fire both when an individual performs an action and when that individual observes someone else performing that action. Research suggests that observational learning through modeling is an important factor in determing an individual's behaviour throughout his/her lifetime.

Answer 234

Encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Answer 235

Automatic processing is gaining new information into memory without effort. Controlled processing is actively working to gain information and committing that information into memory. Controlled processing can become automatic with time and exposure.

Answer 236

Visual, acoustic, and semantic. Visual is the weakest and Semantic is the strongest.

Answer 237

Tendency to recall information best when we put it into the context of our own lives.

Answer 238

Repetition of a piece of information to either keep it within working memory, store it in short-term, and/or eventually long-term memory.

Answer 239

Mnemonics are common ways to memorize information, particularly lists. 1. Method of loci - associating each item in the list with a location aong a route through a building that has already been memorized. 2. Peg-word - associates numbers with items that rhyme with or resemble the numbers; for example, sun = one, two = shoe.

Answer 240

Taking individual elements of a large list and grouping them together into groups of elements with related meaning.

Answer 241

Most fleeting kind of memory consisting of both iconic and echoic memory. Lasts a short period of time but takes in a lot of information. Small subsets can be recalled at will (colour, movement, size, etc).

Answer 242

Memory fades quickly over time (approximately 30s without rehearsal). It is also limited in capacity to approximately seven items (usually stated as the 7+/-2 rule). Capacity of your short term memory can increase with maintenance rehearsal and clustering. Short term memory is stored in the hippocampus.

Answer 243

Related to short-term memory, it enables us to keep a few pieces of information in our consciousness simultaneously and manipulate that information. For example, doing simple maths. It uses the frontal and parietal lobes.

Answer 244

WIth enough rehearsal, the short-term memory moves to long-term memory. One way of consolidating short-term memory into long-term memory is by use of elaborative rehearsal. There are two types of long-term memory: implicit and explicit memory.

Answer 245

Maintenance rehearsal just keeps the information at the forefront of our mind whereas elaborative rehearsal allows that short-term memory to develop into long-term memory by use of devices like the self-reference effect.

Answer 246

Implicit memory is nondeclarative memory. It consists of skills and conditioned responses; for example, driving or riding the bike.

Answer 247

Explicit memory is declarative memory and consists of semantic memory and episodic memory. Explicit memory requires conscious recall. Semantic memory is memory as it relates to facts and concepts whereas Episodic memory is related to events and experiences (feelings).

Answer 248

Process of demonstrating that something that has been learned has been retained. It can be comprised of recognition or relearning information.

Answer 249

Recognition is the process of merely identifying a piece of information that was previously learned and is far easier than recall. Relearning is demonstrating that information has been stored in long-term memory.

Answer 250

The longer the amount of time between sessions of relearning, the greater the retention of the information later on.

Answer 251

It is believed that the brain organizes ideas into a semantic network in which concepts are linked together based on similar meanings. When one node of this semantic network is activated, the other linked concepts around it are also unconsciously activated in a process known as spreading activation. This is at the heart of priming, which is recall aided by being presented with a word or phrase that is closely tied to the semantic memory.

Answer 252

Context effects is memory being aided by the physical location where the encoding took place (you recall better wherever you encoded). State-dependent memory is the individual's mental state when the information was encoded and that particular state aiding during recall of the information. For example, learning while drunk - recall may be better when drunk.

Answer 253

Linked to the loss of acetylcholine in neurons that link to the hippocampus. Symptoms include: progressive dementia, memory loss, atrophy of the brain, and sundowning (increase in dysfunction in the late afternoon and evening).

Answer 254

Memory loss caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain. Marked by both retrograde and anterograde amnesia, and confabulation.

Answer 255

Retrograde is the loss of previously formed memories and Anterograde is inability to form new memories.

Answer 256

Loss of the ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds, though usually only one of the three. This is usually due to damage to the brain (eg. stroke).

Answer 257

Proactive interference is the inability to remember new information due to the old information interfering; for example, forgetting your new address because your old address is interfereing. Retroactive interference is inability to remember old information because the new information is interfering; for example, forgetting an old number because of your new phone number.

Answer 258

Time-based prospective memory; for example, remembering to take meds at 7pm.

Answer 259

These are ways in which memory can be skewed and encoded falsely. Confabulation is creation of vivid false memories (brain filling gaps in memory). Misinformation effect is a phenomenon in which memories are altered by misleading information provided at the point of encoding or recall. Source-monitoring errors is a phenomenon in which a person remembers the details of an event but confuses the context by which the details were gained; often causes a person to remember events that happened to someone else instead of him/herself.

Answer 260

These terms are all related to the neurobiology of learning and memory. Neuroplasticity is the change in neural connections cause by learning or a response to injury. Children have a higher neuroplasticity and therefore are more receptive to learning new skills/language than adults. Synaptic pruning is the bolstering of strong neural connections and the breaking of weak neural connections thereby increasing the efficiency of our brains to process information. Long-term potentiation is the repetition of a stimulus which results in the stimulation of neurons becoming more efficient and effective at releasing their neurotransmitters and at the same time the receptor sites increasing, and increasing the receptor density. These three terms help explain the neurobiological processes that occur with learning and memory.

Answer 261

Sensation is conversion of physical, electromagnetic, auditory, and other information from our internal and external environment to electrical signals in the nervous system. Perception is the processing of this information to make sense of its significance.

Answer 262

Sensory receptors > Sensory Ganglia > Projection Areas in the brain for analysis

Answer 263

Photoreceptors (electromagnetic waves in the visible spectrum); Hair cells (movement of fluid in the inner ear structure - hearing, rotational, and linear acceleration); Nociceptors (painful or noxious stimuli - somatosensation); Thermoreceptors (changes in temperature - thermosensation); Osmoreceptors (osmolarity of the blood - water homeostasis); Olfactory receptors (volatile compounds - smell); and Taste receptors (dissolved compounds - taste)

Answer 264

Absolute threshold is the minimum stimulus energy needed to activate the sensory system; for example, sweet taste is a teaspoon of sucrose in two gallons of water or in a dark night, the eye can detect the light of one candle burning 30 miles away. The threshold of conscious perception is the threshold required for perception - because the stimulus is too subtle to demand attention or too brief, the perception threshold may not be reached. Subliminal perception is the perception of a stimulus below a given threshold.

Answer 265

Minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli before one can perceive the difference. There is a constant ratio between the change in stimulus magnitude needed to produce a jnd and the magnitude of the original stimulus. Therefore, a higher-magnitude stimulus requires a larger difference between the two stimuli to produce a jnd.

Answer 266

Signal detection theory is the changes in our perception of the same stimuli depending on both internal and external context, thereby creating a response bias. You can have catch trials (signal present) and noise trials (signals not present). There are also four possible outcomes: hits (true detection), misses (not detected), false alarms (false detection), and correct negatives (true no detection). Misses or false alarms indicates bias in the subject.

Answer 267

Change in the detection of a stimulus over time. There is a sensory and perceptual component. For example, eyes adjusting to the dark or cold water no longer seeming cold.

Answer 268

Input eye image.

Answer 269

Changes in the shape of the lens through the suspensory ligaments

Answer 270

The retina contains two kinds of photoreceptors: cones and rods

Answer 271

Approx. 6 million cones. They are most effective in bright light and comes in three forms: small, medium, and long (blue, green, and red, respectively).

Answer 272

Approx. 120 million cones. More functional and only allow sensation of light and dark because they contain a single pigment called rhodopsin. They have low sensitivity to details and are not involved in color vision, but permit night vision.

Answer 273

The macula is the central section of the retina, and the fovea is the centralmost section of the macula. These sections of the retina comprise of a higher concentration of cones, and the fovea is all cones.

Answer 274

Rods and cones connect with bipolar cells, which highlight gradients between adjacent rods or cones. Bipolar cells synapse with ganglion cells, which group together to form the optic nerve. As the number of receptors that converge through the bipolar neurons onto one ganglion cell increases, the resolution decreases. Amacrine and horizontal cells receive input from multiple retinal cells in the same area before the information is passed on to ganglion cells. This leads to accentuation of differences between the visual information in each bipolar cells. Thus, leading to ability for edge detection (increase our perception of contrasts).

Answer 275

Temporal visual field goes towards the nasal retina. Nasal visual field goes towards the temporal retina. The nasal retina signal travels through the nasal optic nerve, where they then cross path at the optic chiasm. Incidentally, the temporal fibers do not cross paths. This means that all fibers corresponding to the left visual field from both eyes project into the right side of the brain and vice-versa. Visual Field > Retina > Optic Nerve > Optic Chiasm > Optic Tract > Lateral Geniculate Nucleus > Occipital Lobe. There are also inputs in the superior colliculus, which controls responses to visual stimuli and reflexive eye movements.

Answer 276

Ability to simultaneously analyze and combine information regarding color, shape, and motion. These features can be compared to our memories to determine what is being viewed.

Answer 277

Feature detection - our visual pathways contain cells specialized in detection of color (cones), shape (parvocellular cells), and motion (magnocellular cells). Parvocellular cells have high spatial resolution and magnocellular cells have high temporal resolution.

Answer 278

Input ear image.

Answer 279

The inner ear sits within the bony labyrinth, which contains the cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals. The bony labyrinth is bathed with the perilymph. The mebranous labyrinth sits in the bony labyrinth and is bathed in endolymph. The perilymph simultaneously transmits vibrations from the outside world and cushions the inner ear structures.

Answer 280

Cochlea is divided into three parts called scalae. The middle scala houses the actual hearing apparatus called the organ of Corti. This organ contains thousands of hair cells which are bathed in endolymph. The other two scalae are filled with perilymph and surround the hearing apparatus and are continuous with the oval and round windows of the cochlea. Therefore, the sound entering the cochlea through the oval window causes vibrations in the perilymph, which are transmitted to the basilar membrane. Because fluids are incompressible, the round window permits the perilymph to move within the cochlea. Thus, this leads to stimulation of the hair cells in the middle scalae >> this stimulation leads to electrical signal, which is carried through the CNS by the vestibulocochlear nerve.

Answer 281

The vestibule is responsible for linear acceleration. The two structures are the utricle and saccule, which contains modified hair cells covered with otoliths. As the body accelerates, these otoliths will resist the motion. Bending and stimulating of the underlying hair cells sends signals to the brain.

Answer 282

The semicircular canals are responsible for rotational acceleration. These are arranged perpendicularly from one another, and the ampulla, which contain the hair cells allow the detection of the rotational acceleration.

Answer 283

Ear > Vestibulocochlear Nerve > Medial Geniculate Nucleus of the thalamus > auditory cortext (temporal lobe) and other projection areas such as the superior olive (binaural ability) and inferior colliculus (involved in startle reflex and helps keep eyes on a fixed position).

Answer 284

High frequency pitches cause vibrations of the basilar membrane close to the oval window whereas low frequency pitches cause vibrations away from the oval window. This means that hair cells that are vibrating gives the brain an indication of the pitch of the sound.

Answer 285

Smell is the only sense that does not pass through the thalamus but rather travels unfiltered into higher-order brain centers.

Answer 286

Olfactory receptors (in olfactory epithelium) > Olfactory Bulb > Olfactory Tract > Higher regions of the brain, including the limbic system

Answer 287

Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, and Umami.

Answer 288

Pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature >> the Touch Sensation.

Answer 289

Pacinian (deep pressure and vibration); Meissner (light touch); Merkle (deep pressure and texture); Ruffini (stretch); Free Nerve (temp and pain)

Answer 290

Somatoreceptors > somato ganglia > CNS > Somatosensory cortex (parietal lobe)

Answer 291

Minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such as the two points will be felt as two distinct stimuli

Answer 292

Normal temperature of the skin. Cold objects fall under physiological zero and hot objects above physiological zero.

Answer 293

Special gating mechanism that can turn pain signals on or off due to preferential forwarding of other signals from other touch modalities (pressure, temp, etc.) thus reducing sensation of pain.

Answer 294

Ability to tell where one's body is in space. For example, eyes close >> where is the location and position of your hand. These proprioceptors are found mostly in muscle and joints and play a role in hand-eye coordination, balance, and mobility.

Answer 295

Bottom-up processing (data-driven) refers to object recognition by parallel processing and feature detection. Essentially, the brain takes the individual sensory stimuli and combines them together to create a cohesive image before determining what the object is. If we only use this - every object will be new to us. Top-down processing is driven by memories and expectations that allow the brain to recognize the whole object and then recognize the components based on these expectations. If we only use this - it would be difficult to discern similar looking objects. We need systems to process object recognition.

Answer 296

Ability to use top-down and bottom-up processing in tandem with all of the other sensory clues about an object, to create a complete picture or idea. Gestalt principles are used to fill the gaps.

Answer 297

Ways for the brain to infer missing parts of a picture when a picture is incomplete. There are five types: Law of Proximity (elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit); Law of Similarity (objects that are similar tend to be grouped together); Law of Good Continuation (elements that appear to follow in the same pathway tend to be grouped together); Law of Subjective Contours (perceiving contours and therefore, shapes that are not actually present in the stimulus); Law of Closure (when a space is enclosed by a contour, it tends to be perceived as a complete figure).

Answer 298

Perceptual organization will always be regular, simple, and symmetric.

Answer 299

Phrenology - personality linked to brain anatomy. For a particular trait that was well-developed then the part of the brain responsible for it would expand.

Answer 300

Studied functions of the major sections of the brain by extirpation and ablation. He asserted that different parts of the brain are specific for different functions and removal of one weakens the whole brain.

Answer 301

Father of American Psychology. Role in functionalism, a system of thoughts in psychology that studied how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environments.

Answer 302

Role in functionalism. He believed that psychology should focus on the study of the organism as a whole as it functioned to adapt to the environment.

Answer 303

Demonstrated that specific functional impairments could be linked with specific brain lesions.Broca found that a man who'd been unable to talk was unable to doso because of a lesion in a specific area on the left side of the brain.

Answer 304

First to measure the speed of a nerve impulse. Credited with the transition of psychology into the field of natural sciences.

Answer 305

Inferred the existence of synapses.

Answer 306

Sensory neurons are afferent neurons - they send sensory information from the receptors to the CNS. Motor neurons are efferent neurons - they transmit motor information from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands. Interneurons are found between other neurons and are the most numerous of the three types of neurons. They are predominantly found in the brain and spinal cord and are often linked to reflexive behaviour.

Answer 307

The nerve pathway involved in a reflex action, including at its simplest a sensory nerve and a motor nerve with a synapse between.

Answer 308

Central nervous system is comprised of the brain and spinal cord. The Peripheral nervous system is comprised of nerve tissue and fibers outside the brain and spinal cord (like the spinal and cranial nerves). The PNS can be divided into the somatic and autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system consists of sensory and motor neurons distributed throughout the skin, joints, and muscles. The autonomic nervous system is comprised of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. It regulates heartbeat, respiration, digestion, and glandular secretions.

Answer 309

Main role is to conserve energy. It is associated with resting and sleeping states, and digestion. What happens with the body: constricts pupils, stimulates flow of saliva, constricts bronchi, slows heartbeat, stimulates peristalsis and secretion, stimulates bile release, and contracts bladder.

Answer 310

Activated by stress and closely associated with rage and fear reactions, also known as fight-or-flight. What happens with the body: dilates pupils, inhibits salivation, relaxes bronchi, accelerates heartbeat, stimulates sweating or piloerection, inhibits peristalsis and secretion, stimulates glucose production and release, secretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline, inhibits bladder contraction, stimulates orgasm.

Answer 311

Dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater. The meninges help protect the brain, keep it anchored within the skull, and resorb CSF.

Answer 312

The hindbrain-rhombencephalon (myelencephalon (medulla oblangata) and the metencephalon (pons and cerebellum)). The midbrain-mesenchepalon (superior and inferior colliculus)). The forebrain-prosencephalon (diencephalon (thalamus, hypothalamus, posterior pituitary, and pineal gland) and telencephalon (cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic pathway)).

Answer 313

Regulates breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Answer 314

Contains sensory and motor pathways between the cortex and the medulla.

Answer 315

Helps maintain posture and balance, and coordinates body movements.

Answer 316

It's associated with involuntary reflex responses triggered by visual or auditory stimuli. The superior colliculus receives visual input and the inferior colliculus receives auditory input.

Answer 317

Studying brain lesions, extirpation and ablation, electrical stimulation, electroencephalogram, and regional cerebral blood flow.

Answer 318

Relay station for incoming sensory information, including all senses except for smell. The thalamus sorts and transmits them to the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex.

Answer 319

Feeding, Fighting, Flighting, and (sexual) Functioning. It serves many homeostatic functions.

Answer 320

Lateral Hypothalamus (hunger centre - regulates eating and drinking; destruction causes not wanting to eat/drink). Ventromedial Hypothalamus (satiety centre - provides signals to stop eating; destruction causes obesity). Anterior Hypothalamus (sexual behaviour; stimulation leads to heightened sexual behaviour, destruction leads to permanent inhibition of sexual acitvity. Also has roles in sleeping and body temp)

Answer 321

PP gland releases antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin. Pineal gland releases melatonin, which regulates circadian rhythms.

Answer 322

Coordinates muscle movement as they receive information fom the cortex and relay this information to the brain and the spinal cord. The extrapyramidal motor system gathers information about body position and carries this information to the CNS; thus helping smooth our movements and steady our posture.

Answer 323

Primary role in emotion and memory. Its structures are the septal nuclei, the amygdala, and the hippocampus.

Answer 324

One of the primary pleasure centers in the brain. Association with this nuclei and addictive behaviours.

Answer 325

Plays an important role in defensive and aggressive behaviours, including fear and rage. Lesions in this area result in docility and hypersexual states.

Answer 326

Plays a vital role in learning and memory processes, especially in forming long-term memories and distributing memories to the cerebral cortex. It communicates with the other parts of the limbic system via the fornix.

Answer 327

Frontal lobe (executive function, supervisory), temporal lobe (hearing), parietal lobe (touch, temperature, pain), and occipital lobe (vision).

Answer 328

Three regions: Prefrontal cortex, Broca's Area and Motor cortex. What do they do? Prefrontal cortex manages executive function by supervising and directing the operations of other brain regions. Processes can include perception, memory, emotion, impulse control, and long-term planning. The motor cortex is responsible for voluntary motor movements (projection area) which include feet, fingers, lips, etc. Broca's area is responsible for speech production. Loss of this area leads to Broca's aphasia or inability to form and say the appropriate words.

Answer 329

An association area integrates input from diverse brain regions. A projection area has more simple perceptual and motor tasks.

Answer 330

Located to the rear of the frontal lobe. It is involved in somatosensation (touch, pressure, pain, temperature). It containts the somatosensory cortex. The central region of the parietal lobe is associated with spatial processing and manipulation. For example, spatial manipulation of objects, map-reading, and orient oneself in 3D space.

Answer 331

Contains the visual cortex.

Answer 332

Contains the auditory cortex and Wernicke's area. The auditory cortex is the primary site of most sound processing, including speech, music, and other sound information. Wernicke's area is associated with language reception and comprehension (damage causes inability to understand language being spoken).

Answer 333

Contralaterally means the motor neurons on the left side of the brain activate movements on the right side of the body. Ipsilaterally means that the cerebral hemispheres communicate with the same side of the body.

Answer 334

Left brain dominant. Of left handed individuals, only 18% are right brain dominant; therefore, everyone is mostly left brain dominant.

Answer 335

Primarily analytic functions, detail-oriented analysis. For example, language, logic, and math skills. This includes letters and words using the visual system and speech-related sounds using the auditory system. Complex voluntary movement also managed by the dominant hemisphere.

Answer 336

Associated with intuition, creativity, music cognition, and spatial processing. The nondominant hemisphere simultaneously processes the pieces of a stimulus and assembles them into a holistic image. The dominant hemisphere screens incoming language to analyze its content and the nondominant hemisphere interprets it according to its emotional tone. Lastly, this hemisphere is responsible for faces, music, emotions, and geometry/sense of direction.

Answer 337

Neurotransmitters are endogenous chemicals that enable neurotransmission. It is a type of chemical messenger which transmits signals across a chemical synapse, such as a neuromuscular junction, from one neuron (nerve cell) to another "target" neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell.

Answer 338

NT used by the efferent limb of the somatic nervous system (moving muscles) and parasympathetic nervous system. It is used to transmit nerve impulses to the muscles. Also, has roles in attention and arousal.

Answer 339

Involved with alertness and wakefulness, and the primary NT for flight-or-flight response. Norepinephrine acts at a local level as a NT, epinephrine is more often secreted from the adrenal medulla to act systemically as hormone.

Answer 340

Catecholamine involved in movement and posture. Mostly found in basal ganglia, which helps smooth movements and maintain postural stability.

Answer 341

It is a monoamine responsible for mood, eating, sleeping, and dreaming. High serotonin leads to mania and low leads to depression.

Answer 342

These are stabilizing NTs. They act to produce inhibitory postsynaptic potentials and is thought to play an important role in stabilizing the neural activity in the brain. >>> Hyperpolarization of postsynaptic membrane.

Answer 343

It is an excitatory NT.

Answer 344

Endorphins are natural painkillers produced in the brain.

Answer 345

Used by the endocrine system for communication in the body.

Answer 346

The hypothalamus and pituitary gland are spatially close to each other and control is maintained through the release of hormones into the hypophyseal portal system that directly connects the two organs.

Answer 347

Adrenal medulla - epinephrine and norepinephrine. Adrenal cortex - corticosteroids, including cortisol, and testosterone and estrogen (in both males and females). The gonads produce sex hormones in higher concentrations leading to higher levels of testosterone in males and higher levels of estrogen in females. These hormones increase libido and contribute to mating behaviour and sexual function.

Answer 348

Family studies rely on the assumption that genetically related individuals are more similar genotypically than unrelated individuals. Sample group - family members; Control group - non-related individuals. For example, schizophrenia more common within families of affected individuals.

Answer 349

Twin studies - comparing concordance rates for a trait between monozygotic and dizygotic twins, thus allowing discrimination of the effects of shared environment and genetics. Sample group - MZ and Control group - DZ. For example, MZ twins separated at birth shared similar personalities versus DZ twins raised in the same household.

Answer 350

Adoption studies help us understand environmental influences and genetic influence on behaviour. Sample group - adopted child; Control group - biological child. For example, IQ of adopted child is more comparable to biological parent than adoptive parent.

Answer 351

Starts with neurulation at 3-4w GA. Neurulation occurs when the ectoderm overlying the notochord begins to furrow forming a neural groove surrounded by two neural folds. The leading edge of the neural fold are called the neural crest and will migrate throughout the body to form disparate tissues. The remainder of the furrow closes to form the neural tube, which will ultimately form the CNS. The alar plate in the neural tube differentiates into sensory neurons and the basal plate differentiates into motor neurons.

Answer 352

Automatic turning of the head in the direction of a stimulus that touches the cheek

Answer 353

Infants react to abrupt movements of their heads by flinging out their arms then slowly retracting their arms and crying.

Answer 354

When the sole is stimulate, the toes spread apart automatically.

Answer 355

When the infant closes his or her fingers around an object placed in his or her hand.

Answer 356

Adults with neurological diseases may exhibit these primitive reflexes, espeically in illnesses that cause demyelination.

Answer 357

Gross motor development proceeds from head to toe and from the core to the periphery.

Psychology Flashcards - Sheet1

MCAT Kaplan Psychology