psychology unit 3 aos1

Question 1

Nervous System

Answer 1

A complex, highly organised network os specialised cells that acts as a communication system between the body’s internal cells and organs and the external world.

Functions are to receive and process information an coordinate a response

Question 2

Central nervous system

Answer 2

processes information received from the bodys internal and external environments to activate a response

Question 3

Brain

Answer 3

receives and processes sensory information received from the environment and initiates, responds and controls all bodily actions and funtions

Question 4

Spinal cord

Answer 4

receive sensory information from the body via the PNS and send messages to the brain.
Receives motor information from the brain and sends it to relevant parts of the body to control muscles glands and organs so actions can be taken

Question 5

peripheral nervous system

Answer 5

carries information from the body’s muscles organs and glands to the CNA about internal environment and from the sensory organs about the external environment.

Carries information from the CNS to the body’s muscles organs and glands

Question 6

Somatic nervous system

Answer 6

Carries sensory information received at sensory receptors sites in the body along sensory neural pathways to the CNS.

Carries motor information from the CNS along the motor neural pathways to skeletal muscles to control their activity.

Question 7

Autonomic nervus system

Answer 7

autonomous self regulation of visceral muscles, organs and glands that occurs without unconscious effort and involuntary.

Question 8

Sympathetic NS

Answer 8

activates internal muscles, organs and glands to prepare the body for vigorous activity (fight or flight)

Question 9

Parasympathetic

Answer 9

helps maintain the internal body environment in a steady, balanced state of normal/homeostatic functioning (rest/digest)

Question 10

Spinal reflex

Answer 10

unconscious, involuntary and automatically occurring response to certain stimuli initiated within the spinal cord without any involvement of the brain.

Question 11

Neuron

Answer 11

individuals nerve cell specialised to receive, process and/or transmit information.
Properties are
- irritability: ability to be stimulated
- conductivity: ability to transmit information

Question 12

Neurotransmitter

Answer 12

chemical substance produced by a neuron that carries a message to other neuron or cells in muscles, organs and tissue.

Effects are either

• excitatory: stimulates/activates the postsynaptic neuron to perform its functions
• Inhibitory: prevents/locks the the postsynaptic neuron from firing

Question 13

synapse

Answer 13

the site where communication occurs between adjacent neurons

Question 14

Glutamtate

Answer 14

• Main excitatory neurotransmitter found in the CNS.
• Second most abundant and has roles in most aspects of regular brain functioning such as perception, learning, memory, thinking and movement.
• Release is strongly associated with the enhances learning and memory,
• too much csn lead to overexcitation of neurons causing damage due to over stimulation.

Question 15

Gamma aminoburtyric acid

Answer 15

• main inhibitiry neurostransmitter in CNS
• role is to fine tune the transmission in the brain and maintains neurotransmission at an optimal level.
• low levels can result in uncontrolled avctivation of neurons resulting in siezures and mental health issues like anxiety.

Question 16

Daily pressures

Answer 16

stressor involving little problems of everyday living that are an irritant. Aren’t significant in themselves or distressing for a prolonged period of time, but can pile up becoming a major source of stress.

Question 17

Life events

Answer 17

Stressor in everyday life involving changes that force an individual to adapot to new circumstances.

Question 18

Acculturative stress

Answer 18

Stress exeriences due to people trying to adapt to a new culture when living in it for a considerable period of time
- people have to acculturate meaning they adopt the values, customs and language of the domininat culture

Question 19

Major stressors

Answer 19

stressor involving an event that is extraordinarily stressful or disturbing for almost everyone who experiences it. May be a single one off event but likely to be a terrible experience.

Question 20

catastrophe

Answer 20

event that causes wide spread damage or suffering, disrupting and affecting a whole community all at once. Majority of people consider it to be stressful.
can be
- naturl: fires, flodding etc
- attributable: human caused like terrorist attck

Question 21

Figh and flight reactions

Answer 21

• all energy is directed from non essiential bodily system to those that will help us either outrun or outflight the threat.
• reacrtions are initiated by the sympathetic nervous system
• when threat is percieved a signal is sent to hypothalamus vus the amygdala causing the secretion of hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline.

Question 22

freeze reaction

Answer 22

• tonic immobility
• sympathetetic nervous system is active however the energy conserving actions of the parasympathetic nervous system is more dominant.
• also has an orientating response where the head and eytes look towards the direction of the threat. often accompanies by hypervigillence (being on guard and alert).

Question 23

FFF response

Answer 23

an involuntary, pgysical response to a sudden and immediate threat/stressor.

Question 24

General adaptation syndrom

Answer 24

three stage physiological response the strress that occurs refgardless of the stressor encountered

• alarm reaction: person becomes aware of stressor. body enter state of shock where ability to del with styress falls below normal level. Countershock occurs and sympathetic NS is activated and resistance to the stressor increases (Fight or flight response). High arousal/alertness and HPA axis may be activated.
• resistance: resistance to stressor rises above normal level. Intense arousal and alarm from alarm reaction diminshes through activity of parasympathetic NS, however avility to cope is abive nirmal. corticosteroids/cortisol are released. If successful the body will have adapted to the stressor and returns to homeostatic level of functioning.
• Exhuastion: alarm reaction changed may re-appear but body cannot sustain it’s resistance and the effect can no longer be dealt with. characteised by wear and tear on the body due to surpression of immune system.

Question 25

Transactional model of stress and coping

Answer 25

Proposes, that stress involves an encounter (transaction) between an individual and their external environment and that stress depends upon the individuals appraisal of the relevance of the stressor to the individuals well being and ability to cope.

• primary appraisal: individual eavluates or judges the significance of the event and whether it is irrelevant, benign positive or stressful. If stressful then we engage in further appraisals where we decide whether the situation involves any harm or loss ( how much damage is already done), threat (assess possible additional harm in the future), challenge (opportunity for positive outcome).
• secondary appraisal: individuals evaluates their ability to control or overcome the situation by looking at resources and coping options for dealing with the event.

Question 26

strengths and weaknesses of transactional model

Answer 26

Strengths:
- focuses on psyhological influences on how we react to a stressor and emphasises individual differences in the human stress response
- developed by refenecs to observations of humans rather than animals.
weakenesses:
- difficult to test through research due to variability and subjective nature and its cmplexity.
- primary and secondary aopraisals can interact with eachother and often occur at the same time whch can be it hard to seperate the variables for experimental purposes.

Question 27

coping

Answer 27

a process involving cogntive and behavioural efforts uin an attemot to manage the demands of the stressor in some affective way.

Question 28

coping strategy

Answer 28

a specific method, behavioural or psychological, that people use to manage or reduce stress produced by a stressor.

Question 29

context specific effectiveness

Answer 29

when there is a good match and fir between the coping strategy and the stressful situation.

Question 30

coping flexibility

Answer 30

ability to effectively modify or adjust ones coping strategy’s according to the demnds of the stressful situation.

includes abilities to

• select a coping strategy that suits the circumstances
• recognise when the coping strategy being used is ineffective
• produce and implement an alternative strategy when required.