Semester 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Define the scientific method
A
A set of procedures which guide the gathering and interpreting of information to minimize bias and error
2
Q
What are the 6 steps of the scientific method?
A
- Observation/Question/Background research
- Hypothesis
- Experiment to test hypothesis
- Analyze results and draw conclusion
- Report/Publish results
- New question to answer/replication of results
3
Q
What are the three methods used in the study of behaviour/health/development?
A
- Descriptive
- Correlational
- Experimental
4
Q
What is the descriptive method?
A
Observe and describe things as they naturally occur
5
Q
What is the correlational method?
A
Examines the degree to which 2 or more variables are related
This allows one variable to predict the other
6
Q
How is correlation measured/Proven?
A
It can be positive or negative, ranging from -1 to 0 (no correlation) to +1.
It is proven when change of one variable is accompanied by change in another
7
Q
What is the experimental method?
A
Investigation of causal relationships
Has an independent variable, and the dependant variable
8
Q
What are the strengths of correlational research?
A
Suggests a potential causal relationship (to be investigated)
Allows researchers to examine potentially unethical relationships
Reveals real world relationships as no artificial environment
9
Q
What are the weaknesses of correlational research?
A
Only reveals a correlation- there is no inference of causation able to be made
10
Q
What are the strengths of experimental research?
A
Causal claims can be proven
11
Q
What are the weaknesses of experimental research?
A
Random assignment may be impossible or unethical
Lab behaviour may not reflect reality
12
Q
What is important to have in experimental studies?
A
- A representative sample
- Random assignment to minimize confounding
- Standardised procedures to minimize confirmation bias, expectancy and confounders
- Definitions of variables to minimize confirmation bias
- Double blinding to minimize placebo and expectancy effects
- Good statistical significance
13
Q
What are 5 important considerations in experiments?
A
- Risk/Gain assessment
- Informed consent and confidentiality
- Vulnerable subjects
- Intentional deception
- Debriefing
14
Q
What is risk/gain assessment?
A
Need to have greater gain than potential risk to the participants
15
Q
What is informed consent and confidentiality?
A
Participants know their requirements, benefits and risks, where to get support and that they can withdraw
Their contact details are kept secure and their data does not make them easily identifiable
16
Q
What are vulnerable subjects?
A
Children are vulnerable- consent from caregivers must be obtained
17
Q
What is intentional deception?
A
Withholding the true purpose of a study when going through informed consent, in order to double blind.
18
Q
What is debriefing?
A
Providing support and information
Explaining the true purpose of study and why deception was necessary
Allow participants to choose to keep their information in the study.
19
Q
What are the 5 different psychological study types?
A
- Longitudinal
- Cross sectional
- Self report
- Naturalistic observation
- Laboratory observation
20
Q
What is a longitudinal study?
A
- Follows the same group over time to determine time-related changes in thoughts and behaviours
21
Q
What is a cross sectional study
A
Compares people at one point in time
22
Q
What is a self report study?
A
Collects data using questionnaires or interviews
Collects a wide range cheaply
However, subjects may lie, misremember, not understand etc.
23
Q
What is a naturalistic observation study?
A
Observe behaviour in its natural setting, without influencing it
Collects a realistic picture of behaviour, allowing new idea generation
Takes time, usually a small scale. Can’t infer causality
24
Q
What is a laboratory observation study?
A
Observe behaviour in a lab
Confounding factors more able to be controlled
Specialized equipment can be used
Surrounding may impact behaviour
25
What is important with measures in studies?
They must be:
Reliable (consistent results when repeated)
Valid (measures to a good standard)
26
What causes depression?
The ANS
It involves the hippocampus, Amygdala, Hypothalamus and pituitary gland.
The hypothalamus releases CRH, ant. pituitary releases ACTH, releasing cortisol from the adrenal gland
27
What are the symptoms of depression?
```
Weight change
Problems thinking and concentrating
Helplessness
Thoughts of death
Isolation
Sleep issues
Agitation
```
28
What are the neurotransmitter changes associated with depression?
Decreased serotonin
Decreased dopamine
No Norepinephrine
29
What are the endocrine changes associated with depression?
Disturbed circadian rhythm
High cortisol
Low oestrogen
Low testosterone (after 50)
30
Why is stimulation important in children?
It wires brain grouwth through experience. Understimulation impairs development, and toxic environments may overwhelm children
31
How does neglect affect the developing brain?
It disrupts development: emotional, cognitive and behavioural disorders
It alters the development of the stress response: greater risk of anxiety, depression and chronic disease
32
What is the difference between positive, tolerable, and toxic stress?
- Positive stress can help us cope and stay safe
- Tolerable stress occurs if there is a supportive environment surrounding a traumatic event
- Toxic stress is when activation of the stress response is strong, frequent or prolonged, without support.
33
What are the hormones related to stress and their effects?
- Adrenaline: Mobilizing energy, vasomotor
| - Cortisol: Immune depression, mobilizing energy, damage to hippocampus (memory)
34
How does the stress response occur?
```
Stressor
Hypothalamus --> CRH
Ad. Pit --> ACTH
Kidneys release cortisol
Cortisol impacts organs
```
35
What are the 4 types of unresponsive care?
- Occasional inattention
- Chronic understimulation
- Severe neglect in a family context
- Severe neglect in an institutional context
36
What is occasional inattention?
Intermittent diminished attention in a responsive environment
This can promote growth in a supportive environment
37
What is chronic understimulation?
Ongoing diminished level of child focussed responsiveness and enrichment
Leads to developmental delays
38
What is severe neglect in a family context?
Significant and ongoing abuse of one on one interaction
Failure to provide basic needs
Causes anything from developmental delays to a threat to health and survival
39
What is severe neglect in an institutional setting?
Warehouse conditions, with many children and few caregivers
No individual adult-child responsiveness
Impaired cognitive, physical and psychological development, although survival needs are met.
40
What do drugs target?
The reward pathway, increasing the amount of dopamine acting on the brain and feeling of reward
41
How does ecstacy enter the brain?
1. Dissolves in stomach
2. Absorbed from stomach and SI
3. Liver to heart
4. Heart to lungs to heart
5. Heart to systemic circuit including brain
42
What does ecstasy do in the brain?
- Affects neocortex, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, amygdala and hippocampus
- Not physically addictive (no withdrawl) but can be psychologically addictive
- Causes heightened perception, reduced appetite, stimulation and elevated mood
- Builds resistance
- Clouds thinking, disturbs behaviour, jaw clenching and hyperthermia, and memory impairment
- Manmade, so could contain anything.
- Lots taken at once: hyperthermia, arrhythmias and renal failure
43
How does ecstasy have its effects in the brain?
Takes the MDMA pathway, through the raphe nucleus to the neocortex
- Blocks transporter that removes serotonin from synaptic clefts
- Serotonin is in the cleft for a longer time- more reward
- After it's gone, transporters overcompensate, leading to a drop in serotonin and depression/irratibility
- Overall- reduces serotonin and metabolites, transporter and terminals, even many years after use
It degrades serotonin axon terminals to degenerate
Gray matter less active
44
What are teratogens?
Environmental agents that cause damage during the prenatal period, as they can cross the placenta
45
What can have a protective effect from teratogens?
The mother and child's genes may moderate their effects
46
What determines the effects of teratogens?
The time of exposure- more severe the earlier in regnancy
47
What do teratogens do?
Affect accumulation of adipose tissue, necessary for insulation.
48
Are examples of teratogens?
Stimulants
Opiates
Tobacco
Alcohol
49
What do stimulants do to foetuses?
Cocaine: LBW, deformed urogenital system & heart, brain seizures, behaviour and mental issues
Meth: LBW, delayed motor and behavioural development, poor alertness
(Also related to maternal mental illness--> neglect)
50
What do opiates do to foetuses?
LBW, preterm birth, foetal withdrawl, delayed development and SIDS
MBS can be taken as a substitute as it isn't so harmful
51
What does tobacco do to foetuses?
LBW, preterm birth, SIDS, diabetes, high BP, reduced gray matter, ADHD and behavioural/aggression disorders
52
What does alcohol do to foetuses?
LBW, small heads, developmental delay, organ dysfunction, facial abnormalities, poor coordination, social, learning and behavioural disorders, FAS
- Irreversible
- Brain cell death
- Reduced cell growth & proliferation (migrational errors)
- Inhibited nerve growth
- Disruption of neurotransmitters
53
What is FAS?
- Neurons migrate in a disorganized manner, failing to make connections
- CNS dysfunction, growth deficiency and facial deformity
- Hyperactivity and ADHD
- Learning disorders
- Memory, language, judgement issues
- Delayed development, mental retardation and brain damage
- Microcephaly, motor issues, seizures
54
Why do FAS babies have smaller heads?
They have reduced gray matter
55
What compounds the effect of FAS?
Babies with mothers who drink during pregnancy are often raised in stressful home environments, potentially leading to further neglect.
56
What is consciousness?
Personal awareness of both internal and external stimuli
57
What are the three levels of consciousness? (Freud)
Preconscious
Conscious
Unconscious
58
What is 'conscious'?
The things you are actually thinking about
59
What is 'preconscious'?
Things in you mind, but you're not immediately thinking about
60
What is unconscious?
Things we are unable to access easily or that are actively kept out of our awareness
61
What parts of the brain are important for consciousness?
Hindbrain and midbrain- arousal and sleep
Reticular formation: alertness
Prefrontal cortex: Control of information processing
62
What are daydreams?
Shifts in attention towards internal thoughts and imagined scenarios
63
How can we measure the flow of consciousness?
Experience- Sampling: asking participants to record their thoughts at periodic alarms
64
What is hypnosis?
A systematic procedure increasing suggestibility.
| Theoretically, it forms a second, simultaneous stream of awareness called dissociating consciousness
65
How can hypnosis be used?
Analgesia- during labour, minor medical procedures, burns
| Help people stop smoking or eat better
66
What is meditation?
Practices training attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control
67
How can meditation be used?
Reduces stress
Can physiological benefit (BP)
Enhanced immune system
Better self esteem, mood etc.
68
What is subliminal perception?
Perception of stimuli below the threshold of consciousness
69
How does hypnosis affect behaviour, health and development?
Can cause anaesthesia, hallucination, disinhibition or posthypnotic suggestion and amnesia
- Highway hypnonis- can have larger impacts such as leaving a baby in the car
70
How can meditation affect behaviour, health and development?
Alpha and beta waves more prominent, decreased arousal, HR, skin conductance, resp. rate, O2 consumption and CO2 elimination
71
How can subliminal perception affect behaviour, health and development?
Influences emotion and behaviors, but only with a focussed audience.
72
What is a circadian rhythm?
A cyclical, biological process evolved around the daily light/dark cycle
It begins from 6mos in utero
25hr, but entrained to 24hr.
Regulated by melatonin
73
What can happen if circadian rhythms are disrupted?
Jet lag, difficulty working
change in energy, mood and efficiency
Impacts on physical and mental health- mood and bipolar disorder
74
What are the features of the human circadian rhythm?
Related to temperature, which is directly correlated with alertness:
Lowest just before waking, then builds. A slump in midafternoon, before a second peak and a decline during sleep.
75
What is sensation?
The process by which sensory receptors detect stimuli and convert the input energy to neural impulses that travel to the brain
76
What is perception?
The process by which the brain selects, organizes and interprets sensory inputs
77
How does sight work?
Receives light waves via eyes
78
How does hearing work?
Receives sound waves via ears
79
How does taste work?
Chemicals in food and drink are received via tongue: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami
80
How does smell work?
Receives chemicals in the air via our nose. However, this also interacts with the limbic system, to apply memories and allow personal reactions to smell
81
How does pressure work?
Skin is mechanically displaced or moved
82
How does temperature work?
Cold and warmth felt in the skin
83
How does pain work?
Various pain producing stimuli
84
How does kinaesthetic work?
Body position and their movement relative to one another is detected by tension receptors in muscles, tendons and joints
85
How does vestibular work?
receptors in the inner ear detect gravity, acceleration and rotation to determine where your body is in space.
86
What is psychophysics?
Study of the relationship between physical stimulation and the experiences they evoke
87
What is absolute threshold?
The minimum physical energy necessary to produce a sensory response half to the time (eg. lightest possible touch)
88
What is signal detection theory?
Detection is based on sensory processes and judgement. The theory separates the impact of people's motivations, expectations etc. from what they physically sense.
89
What is sensory adaptation?
The diminishing responsiveness of sensory systems to prolonged stimulus input- eg. you don't always feel a hot bath as really hot
90
What is difference threshold?
The smallest physical difference between two stimuli that can be detected as different half the time.
91
What is weber's law?
The size of the just-noticeable difference is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus- eg. it's easier to detect a 1kg change in a 1kg weight than a 50kg weight
92
What are the sensory capacities at birth?
Sensitivity to taste, smell and touch
Attraction to breast milk
Touch is crucial for development
Attraction to taste and smell impacted by in utero environment
Sensitivity to pain, able to be eased with breast milk, sugar solution and touch
Hear variety of sounds (prefer mother's voice and human speech)
Limited vision- poor acuity (8-12 inches)
93
What are sensory capacities at infancy?
- Organize sounds into complex patterns
- Recognize familiar words
- Focus shifts to large segments of speech
- Distinguish music by 6mos
- Distinguish color by 4mos
- recognize objects & people across a room by 8mos: near adult acuity
- Depth perception
94
What kind of patterns do babies prefer as they age?
Babies prefer patterned to plain stimuli
| As they age, they prefer more complex patterns over simple patterns
95
How does vision change as we become elderly?
- Harder to focus on nearby objects, see in dim light and discriminate color
- Decreased acuity, contrast & depth
- Sensitivity to glare
- Increased cataracts and macular degeneration risk
- Lens less flexible and ciliary muscles less agile
96
How does hearing change as we become elderly?
- Hearing loss
- Loss of high frequency sounds
- Soft sound detection worse
- Speech comprehension more difficult
- Less impact on daily life than sight, but impacts safety and satisfaction
97
How does taste/smell change as we become elderly?
- reduced sensitivity
| - has health and safety impacts- can't smell.taste bad food or smoke
98
How does touch change as we become elderly?
Perception in hands, especially the fingertips, declines
99
How can age- related sensation loss be prevented?
- Unhealthy behaviours speed up the decline- but healthy ones slow it
- Surgery, glasses, hearing aids, smoke detectors and removing background noise
- Health screening
- Speaking in low, loud tones.
100
What is perceptional organization?
The integration of sensory information into meaningful units, locating them in space
101
What is form perception?
The organization of sensory information into meaningful shapes and patterns
102
How do we organize visual stimuli?
Divide them into groups or wholes
| Organize them by figure and ground (background)
103
What are the 5 principles of grouping?
Law of Proximity: objects closest to each other grouped together
Law of similarity: similar objects grouped together
Law of Good Continuation: experience lines as continuous even when interrupted
Law of closure: Tend to perceive incomplete objects as complete by perceptually closing the element
Law of common fate: Group objects moving in the same direction together
104
What is depth perception?
- Ability to perceive 3D and judge distance of objects
105
What are the 2 cues of depth perception?
Monocular cues
| Binocular cues
106
What are monocular cues?
Cues about distance based on the image in either eye alone
107
What are the 5 monocular cues?
Interposition: partly blocked object is farther away
Linear perspective: parallel lines appear to converge as they recede
Texture gradient: textured surfaces are coarser close up, and smoother farther away
Familiar size: familiar object appearing smaller than it usually is, is perceived as farther away
Relative size: When two objects are known to be the same size, the closer object is smaller
108
What are binocular cues?
Cues about distance based on differing views from the two eyes
109
What are the 2 binocular cues?
Retinal disparity
| Convergence
110
What is retinal disparity?
As objects are further away, each eye has a slightly different view. The amount of difference between the eyes depends on the relative distance from you. As you get closer, the furthest eye from the closest object gives a larger gap between the two as its angle widens
111
What is convergence?
Eyes converge to focus on closer objects, so info from eye muscles can be used as a depth cue.
112
What is motion perception in terms of motion parallax cues?
As you move, distant objects appear more stationary than objects closer to you
- The brain detects motion across the retina when not tracking. The image stay in the same place, but the eyeball swivels when tracking
As objects get bigger, it indicates they are coming closer.
113
What is perceptual constancy?
Perception of objects as stable despite variations in the retinal image
114
What are the 3 ways we keep perceptual constancy?
- Shape constancy: perceive the true shape of an object, despite variations in the retinal size- eg. as you change angle
- Light constancy: parts of object in shade are actually the same colour as the parts in the sun
- Size constancy: Perceive the true size of an object, despite it being closer or further from you
115
How does our mind govern what we perceive?
The less we attend to a stimulus, the less likely you are to perceive it.
Driven by:
- Goal directed selection: consciously choosing to attend a stimulus, based on your goals
- Stimulus driven capture: features of the stimulus capture your attention, regardless of goals
116
What is inattentional blindness?
Failure to perceive a stimulus because your attention is on another task
117
What is change blindness?
Failure to perceive changes in a scene when there is a momentary interruption to its view
118
What is identification?
Attaching meaning to what you perceive
| - Stimuli are compared to memory, to be categorized meaningfully
119
What role does context play in perception?
It helps clarify ambiguous information- eg. a likely word missing in a sentence
120
How can attention influence perception of symptoms?
Internal and external stimuli compete for attention, so when the environment is exciting, we attend the body less
- distractions such as these are commonly used to direct attention away from pain
121
What is the role of perception in healthcare?
- Context influences symptoms, as the context under which they arose influences perception of them
- Knowledge of symptoms influences our interpretation of them
- Motivations influence noticing and interpreting symptoms
122
What is medical students disease?
Medical students' disease is when students learn about a disease, and begin to think they have it, as they now attend symptoms consistent with it.
123
What is classical conditioning?
When an unconditioned stimulus, which naturally elicits a reflexive response, is associated with a previously neutral stimulus that did not elicit the response
After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus is able to elicit the response on its own
124
What is UCS?
Unconditioned stimulus: any stimulus naturally eliciting a reflexive response
125
What is a UCR?
Unconditioned response: the response naturally elicited by the UCS
126
What is a CS?
Conditioned stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus now able to elicit a response after pairing with the UCS
127
What is a CR?
Conditioned response: the response elicited by the CS
128
What is acquisition?
The process by which the CR is first elicited: generally needs to be paired several times, and timing is critical: pairing must be close enough to be perceived as related
129
What is stimulus generalization?
When CR also occurs when exposed to stimuli similar to the CS, but has never been paired with the UCS
130
What is stimulus discrimination?
Only the CS itself produces the CR, regardless of similarity
131
What is extinction?
Process by which the SR is eliminated, when repeated presentations of the CS occur without presence of the UCS (however, it's easier to recondition a second time)
132
How can classical conditioning be used with advertisement?
Association of positive images or jingles with a product can elicit the same good feeling just about the product
133
How can classical conditioning be used with fear?
Associating scary stimuli with CS can get a fear response with the CS alone
This can be undone in the opposite way
134
How can classical conditioning be used with food/taste aversion?
When you become nauseous (UCR) after eating bad food (UCS), the sight of the food (CS) may produce the same response (CR)
Important for survival, so only takes one pairing for it to become associated
135
How can classical conditioning be used with the immune system?
Immune system can be tricked into thinking it's been suppressed after pairings of sugar solution and suppressing drugs
- This exhibits dose-response: those with twice the drug in their solution had twice the suppression with sugar solution alone
136
How can classical conditioning be used with drugs?
Tolerance and withdrawl is heightened in environment where the drug is usually taken
Increased overdose risk where drug is normally taken, as the body associates the environment with the need to act against the drug
137
How can classical conditioning be used with chemotherapy?
Neutral stimuli become associated with chemotherapy, resulting in anticipatory side effects
138
What is Overshadowing?
When multiple stimuli are involved in classical conditioning, the stronger one becomes the CS, and the weaker one remains neutral
139
What is counterconditioning?
Intentionally forming a pairing between an unwanted behaviour and an unpleasant stimulus
- Can use flooding or systematic desensitization, where you change the CS to reduce the tolerance to the stimulus
140
What is operant conditioning?
The process by which a behaviour becomes associated with a consequence
141
What is reinforcement?
A stimulus occurring after a behaviour, which increases the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated
142
What is the difference between positive and negative reinforcement?
Positive: Introduces a pleasant stimulus
Negative: Removes an unpleasant stimulus
143
What is punishment?
A stimulus occurring after the behaviour that decreases the likelihood of the behaviour
144
What is the difference between positive and negative punishment?
- Positive: introduces an unpleasant stimulus
| - Negative: removes a pleasant stimulus
145
What is extinction (operant)?
When a behaviour fades out (after an initial burst in behaviour after reinforcement removal- why won't it work?!)
146
What are primary vs secondary reinforcers?
P: natural reinforcement: food, water, pain relief
S: learned reinforcers- eg. money, attention
147
What is continuous reinforcement schedule?
Reinforcement given after every single behaviour
148
What is intermittent reinforcement?
Gives the reinforcer intermittently, in ratio or interval schedules. It is harder to remove than continuous schedules
149
What is fixed ratio?
Reinforcer delivered after a set number of behaviours
150
What is variable ratio?
Reinforcer delivered after an 'on average' number of behaviours
151
What is fixed interval?
Reinforcer delivered after a fixed time period
152
What is variable interval?
Reinforcer delivered at an 'on average' time period
153
What are the ABCs of behaviour modifications?
Antecedent
Behaviour
Consequences
154
What are antecedents?
Circumstances evoking the behaviour
155
What are consequences?
Reinforcers that maintain the undesirable behaviour or unfavourable outcomes, suppressing the desirable behaviour
156
What is cognition?
The mental processes involved in acquiring, representing and processing knowledge in terms of thinking, remembering, perceiving and communicating
157
What is cognition characterized by?
- Individual difference in perception
| - Subjective interpretation of one's environment and relationships
158
How does cognition connect to learning?
- We think about things before making decisions, so learning is not automatic or mindless
159
What is observational learning?
When an organism's response is influenced by observation of others (models)
This shows that learning doesn't only occur through conditioning- we learn by mimicking others after seeing their reinforcement of punishment
160
What are the 4 processes in observational learning?
- Attention to behaviour
- Retention of behaviour
- Reproduction of behaviour
- Motivation to perform the behaviour
161
What influences our selection of models?
- Prestige of model
- Likeability of model
- Whether the model was rewarded or punished (vicarious conditioning)
162
How can observational learning be useful?
- Survival
- Treatment of phobias
- Behaviour intervention programmes
- Motor skill learning
- Health promotion
163
What is social cognition?
The process by which people select, interpret and remember social information- this means they view the same situation individually
164
What are the two loci of control?
Internal (I can alter my own fate)
| External (My fate is governed by forces outside of my control)
165
Why is loci of control important for health?
Those who feel under their own control will practice better health habits
166
What is self- efficacy?
The belief that we can do well in a particular situation- like locus of control, but applied to a specific situation
- Important for reducing stress of treatment
167
What influences self-efficacy?
- mastery of experience- previous accomplishment in the thing
- Vicarious experience- observation of others doing the thing (so can I)
- Persuasion, either self or external
- Monitoring emotions and arousal- knowing if you're anxious or excited
168
What is learned helplessness?
An expectancy that one cannot escape aversive events
169
What creates learned helplessness?
Uncontrollable bad events leading to a perceived lack of control and generalized helpless behaviour
The perception of it is crucial, as you may feel you can't escape adversity, even if you can
170
What are the 3 defecits associated with learned helplessness?
Motivational (slowness to initiate action to avoid distress)
Emotional (lifelessness, rigidity, fright and distress)
Cognitive (poor learning in new situations
171
Why is learned helplessness important for health?
Situations where people have little control mean they may give up trying to influence their environment at all, leading to poor mental/physical health and clinical depression
172
What are the two explanatory styles (and what is an explanatory style)?
Determines whether they develop depression after events:
- Optimistic is healthy. People know that experiences are not their fault and there are still things they can do to improve: successes are internal and failures external
- Pessimistic is unhealthy, feeling you cannot alter your situation. Success is luck and failure is lack of ability
173
What is attribution theory?
How people explain causal relationships in the social world: humans want to know why people do things or things happen, and whether it was due to the person or environment
174
What are the two errors of attribution?
- Fundamental attribution error
| - Self- serving bias
175
What is fundamental attribution error?
- Attribute a person's behaviour to their personality, ignoring situational causes- done as we have insufficient or uninteresting info about situational factors
- Pay more attention to people than their surroundings
- Imagine we would do differently in their situation (as an actor, we focus on the world, but as an observer we focus on the actor)
- Cultural influence- west holds people accountable for their own action
176
What is self-serving bias?
Tend to attribute personal success to internal factors (ourselves) and failures to external factors
- Done to save face in society
- Preserves short-term self- esteem
177
What are the three processes of memory?
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
178
What is encoding?
Converting information into a useable form in memory: the process of transforming external events and internal thoughts into both temporary and long-lasting memories
179
How do we achieve short term memory?
Repetition of things in the environment we selectively pay attention to
180
How do we achieve long term memory?
When short term memories are rehearsed
181
What is an engram?
A change in neurotransmitters' anatomy and function due to the encoding of a long term memory
182
What is long-term potentiation?
A pattern of synaptic activity leading to a long-lasting increase in signalling between certain neurons- this eventually ends in storage
183
What are the different depths of encoding?
Orthographic
Phonetic
Semantic
184
What is orthographic encoding?
Knowing what the letters of something mean together
185
What is phonetic encoding?
Knowing what a thing sounds like
186
What is semantic encoding?
Knowing what a thing means
187
Which depth of encoding is best for remembering?
Semantic
188
What is storage?
Retaining information in memory
189
What is required to store memory in short term?
Maintenance rehearsal: repeating something over and over
190
What is required to store memory in long term?
Elaborative rehearsal- knowing what it means etc.
191
What is sensory memory, and how long do memories from the different senses last?
Sensory memory is what you take in through the senses- brief, but vast.
Iconic: .5s
Echoic: 3-4s
Haptic: less than a second
192
What is working memory?
Using strategy to remember something.
| It has a longer life than sensory, but only about 18s
193
What is the capacity of working memory, and how can this be changed?
Capacity is about 7 +/- 2.
Chunking can help to remember more things
Duration of time after exposure decreases amount remembered
It also decreases when a distracting task is present, as to convert it to long term memory requires repetition
194
What does the central executive do?
It works to determine what should be focussed on and remembered
195
What are the different types of long term memory?
Explicit (semantic and episodic)
| Implicit (Priming and Procedural)
196
What is explicit memory?
Declarative, knowing facts and beliefs about the world
197
What is semantic memory?
Explicit memories which are context free: simply data and facts
198
What is episodic memory?
Explicit memories which remember what happened to you: usually needs cues to retrieve
199
What is implicit memory?
Experimental or functional type of memory, unable to be consciously recalled
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What is priming?
Implicit memory which occurs when a prior exposure influences later thoughts and feelings
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What is procedural memory?
A type of implicit memory which occurs when motor responses are repeated
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What is prospective memory, and the issue with it?
The ability to remember to do something in the future.
| However, it's responsible for about 50% of memory failures
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What parts of the brain are important for memory and how?
The striatum and cerebellum: procedural memory, habits
Limbic system and hippocampus: explicit and spatial memory
Amygdala: emotional memory
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What are the 3 ways in which retrieval can occur?
Recall
Recognition
Reconstruction
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What is recall?
Generating a mental representation of a stimulus now absent
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What is recognition?
Noticing that information is like that experienced before
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What is reconstruction?
Piecing together a memory based on information that has been recalled: but this can create false memories
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What are flashbulb memories?
Unique, emotional, vivid and decay resistant memories. Most often occur learning about events after they happen (eg. 9/11)
Said to occur when 3 of the following are recalled: Where, who, how, what were you doing and what emotion was generated
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What impact does stress have on memory?
To little: poor memory due to low motivation
Moderate stress: optimal memory due to alertness and engagement
Too much: poor memory due to anxiety
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What effect does serial position have on memory?
It's easier to remember the first and last things in a sequence than the middle
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What effect does context have on memory?
It can act as a cue, as the more overlap between the conditions at encoding and retrieval, the better the retrieval (encoding specificity)
It also affects the type of information remembered
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What are the rates for forgetting?
steepest rate for the most recently learned material
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What are the 4 causes of forgetting?
Encoding failure
Interference
Decay
Individual Motivation
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What is encoding failure?
Not enough attention, rehearsal or elaboration, or issues with stress
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What is interference?
Can be retroactive or proactive- mistaking something you just learned for something you learned a while ago, or vice versa
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What is decay?
Memory degrades over time
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What is individual motivation?
repression of memory due to trauma
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What are 6 ways of boosting memory?
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Paying attention
Spacing effect
Self referencing
State dependent learning
Address serial position effect
Mnemonics
```
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What is the spacing effect?
Rehearsing memory as soon as possible, and at frequent time intervals
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What is self referencing?
Relating information to ourselves
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What is state dependent learning?
Same state at learning and recall
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What are 3 mnemonic techniques?
Rhymes and acronyms
Method of loci
Hierarchies
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What is method of loci?
Dropping things to remember around a familiar place (in your mind
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What are hierarchies?
Concepts are tied to other, higher order concepts.
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How does memory develop?
The brain begins making connections from birth, causing perception and neurological and cognitive processes to develop
This is supported by neurological change due to experience and repetition, social awareness, supporting self awareness, language and memory, and context (supporting memory through routine)
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What are the characteristics of infant memory?
Implicit memory
Recognition better than recall
Object permanence doesn't exist until 8mos
Can do associative learning: if they pull a sting on their leg, something will move
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What are the characteristics of toddler memory?
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Implicit memory better than infant
Semantic and episodic memory forming- important for language
- recall of names, objects and places
- Language
- Repetition is better than recall
```
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What are the characteristics of 3yo-6yo memory?
- Increased attention and information processing
- Recognition better than recall, but both good
- Doing is better for memory than seeing things
- Begin to understand that other people think differently after 4yo
- Begin to realize that their expectations can change
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What are the characteristics of 6-10yo memory?
- Recognition better than recall
- Better meta memory (stringing pieces of a story together to make a whole)
- Better encoding strategies- rehearsal and elaboration more organized
- Improved episodic memory
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What is infantile amnesia?
The forgetting of memories before 3-3.5 years of age
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Why does infantile amnesia occur?
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Autobiographical memory is eventually obscured by amnesia, possibly the result of a huge reshuffling of neurons during childhood
Also:
Cerebrovascular events
Epilepsy
Trauma
ADHD
FAS
```
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How can infantile amnesia be prevented?
Rehearsal of early memories
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What is the misinformation effect?
Misleading information is incorporated into memory after an event
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What is false memory, and what are its implications?
Recollections that feel real but are not, meaning that suggestive interviewing can lead to construction of false memories
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What are the changes in memory purely due to age?
- Decrease in fluid memory, so decrease in working memory, episodic memory and flashbulb memory
- Increase in word knowledge
Few changes in procedural and semantic knowledge
Crystallized intelligence increases as it's based on experience.
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Why do we see memory degradation in older people?
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- Decrease in rehearsal strategies, interference from past memories, issues with slow retrieval
Anatomical changes:
- Brain shrinkage
- Neural atrophy
- Dendritic loss
- Degrading myelin sheath
- Neurofibrillary tangles
- Neuritic plaques
- Decreased neurotransmitters
```
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What are the reversible/preventable causes of age-related memory loss?
- Medication
- Alcoholism
- Trauma
- Tumors
- Depression
- B12 deficiency
- Hypothyroidism
- Pain
- Vision/hearing issues
- Sleep deprivation
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What is mild cognitive impairment?
- The transition between cognitive changes of normal ageing and dementia
- Some memory loss
- Daily functioning retained
- High risk of dementia
- Can differentiate using mini-mental state exam
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What is amnesia?
- Loss of memory, can be partial or complete, temporary or permanent.
- Due to brain trauma or neurodegenerative disease,
Can be retrograde anterograde or global
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What is dementia?
- Set of progressive disorders marked by disturbance of cognitive function
Prevalence increasing
- Umbrella term for other illnesses, and a syndrome in itself
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What are the signs of dementia?
- Forgetting common words
- Misplacing items inappropriately
- Asking the same questions
- Mixing words up
- Taking longer to complete familiar tasks
- Getting lost
- Sudden mood and behaviour changes
- Inability to follow direction
- Faulty judgement
- Issues telling stories (confabulation)
- Wandering
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What are the features of alzheimer's disease?
- Makes up 50% of dementia cases
- 8-10 years life expectancy once detected
- Severe memory issue the first sign
- Purposeful and skilled action deteriorates
- Sleep disruption
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What are the types and causes of alzheimers?
- Sporadic (no family history- due to mutation)
- Familial (early onset, linked to chromosomes 1, 14 and 21).
- Neurons die and dendrites tangle
- Plaques form
- ACh and serotonin drop
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What is cerebrovascular dementia?
- Strokes leave dead brain cells
- Risk is increased by BP, CVD, diabetes, substance use, stress and obesity
- Men at higher risk
- Reduced by early treatment
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What are ways of supporting those with alzheimers?
- Memory and music causes reduced depression and anxiety, and increased activity
- Bus stop program addresses wandering, and decreases associated challenges
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How can memory loss be prevented?
- Healthy lifestyle- exercise, alcohol and stress
- Improved self efficacy
- Address 'elderly' stereotypes
- Mental activity- education, language learning, instruments and mental workouts
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Why is memory loss important?
NZ's elderly population is increasing
Need to recognize normal vs. reversible vs. dementia
Interventions more necessary to help the elderly remember
