Study exam guide 2 (chpts. 8,9,10,11)

Question 1

8. General: unified person vs. different subsystems view (lecture)

Answer 1

Retaliation a person will act equally aggressive, but the person doesn’t act they will still retaliate.

“Unified person” can stop from acting on aggressive feelings. Aggressive feelings start at the subsystem can intend to harm without recognizing other as person.

Question 2

8. Agression

Answer 2

acting in an intent to harm another

Question 3

*8.general aspects (text pp. 209-210)

Answer 3

Types of Agression
-Predatory aggression
-Intermale aggression
Fear-induced aggression
Territorial aggression
Maternal aggression
Irritable aggression 
sex-related aggression
Instrumental aggression

Question 4

8.related hormones

Answer 4

Testosterone (Tst) high blood Tst linked positively to aggression in males but not in females related to sexual arousal and male vs. female roles. Tst linked directly to social dominance Only indirectly linked with physical aggression.

Question 5

*8.learning theory explanations

Answer 5

x

Question 6

8.Triune brain (lecture)

Answer 6

Maclean’s “truine brain” theory consists of the

• (Inner)Reptillian brain (R-complex)
• (Outter)Mammalian brain
• (Middle)Limbic system

Question 7

8.three divisions

Answer 7

1)(R-complex)Reptilian brain-Routine behaviors, concerns for safety, survival, territoriality.
‘Feelings’ (or lack):
Fight-or-flight: intense, immediate compulsion to act.

2) (Outter)Mammalian brain- Herd behaviors, social action
3) (Middle/ neocortex) Limbic system is the main ‘emotional brain.’

Question 8

8.general emotions related to the three divisions

Answer 8

1)Reptillian R-complex-non feeling aggression pushing someone ‘out of your way’ in your routine territory’)

2)Mammalian brain-Mammals, but not R, practice to become adults.
Also: Maternal protectiveness, ‘outgroup’ dislike, hatred, ‘mischief/impishness’ (compare ‘impulsivity’).
–some theorist suggest that apparent ‘ADHD’ is often a misdiagnosed ‘need to play.’
Many aggressions can come from mammal brain,
e.g., wars, competition, ‘pranks.

3)(Middle/ neocortex) Limbic system-Maternal feelings, bonding, love, social play–and all kinds of play. Thinking, reasoning, planning.Nc can be very related to aggression.
E.g., people may be very aggr. towards others if
aggression leads to goal (e.g., robbery); or
other person is ‘in the way’ of plans (e.g., business plans).

R-complex, mammalian brain both have strong ‘start’ reactions for aggression.
Nc is needed for ‘stop’ reactions.
Nc also needed to decide ‘justice’ so that worse aggression can be stopped.
May need wise aggression to stop bad aggression.

Question 9

8.Type-A behavior pattern (lecture)

Answer 9

Character:
Competitive: striving to win.
Overly urgent.
Interpersonally aggressive (‘anger-out’).
Likely victims for heart attacks.
But ‘anger-in’ TABP have even more heart attacks.
Solution: Use neocortex to plan a practice to gradually learn to be less like TABP.

Question 10

8.anger-in vs. anger-out

Answer 10

Anger out when a person is acting out and Anger in is when anger was kept inside.

Question 11

8.cynical hostility

Answer 11

Character:
Competitive: striving to win.
Overly urgent.
Interpersonally aggressive (‘anger-out’).
Likely victims for heart attacks.
But ‘anger-in’ TABP have even more heart attacks.
Solution: Use neocortex to plan a practice to gradually learn to be less like TABP.

Question 12

9.Emotions

Answer 12

a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others

Question 13

9.Names of the three main theories (lecture)

Answer 13

1) James-Lange is a theorist theory
Stimulus–>specific body reaction–>
interpretation of body reaction ( = emotion)

2) Cannon-Bard theory
Stimulus–>body reaction and brain reaction
(brain reaction = emotion)
Chater singer

3) Schachter-Singer is a cognitive variation theorist theory
Stimulus-->nonspecific body reaction-->
cognitive interpretation ( = emotion)

Question 14

9.Lazarus’s theory (lecture and text)

Answer 14

Lazarus (1962/1984): ‘appraisal theory’.

Emotions occur after a person has evaluated a circumstance.

Question 15

*9. Gray’s theory (lecture and text)

Answer 15

Gray’s behavioral approach system
Low positive affect
introvert
-Phlegmatic (low emotionality)low neg stabel/ neutral approach
-Melancholic (unhappy)high neg. neurotic/Gray’s behavioral inhibition system

Question 16

9. relation to unified person vs. different subsystems view (lecture)

Answer 16

Unified person thinks thing through appraisal theory vs. subsystems fight of flight no cognitive input causes aggression

Question 17

9.Personality and emotion (lecture)

Answer 17

Emotions are temporary mind states, not lasting personality traits.

Question 18

9.the ‘four humors’

Answer 18

High positive affect extravert

• Sanguine (happy) low neg stable/ neutral inhibition
• Choleric (highly emotional)high neg (neurotic)/

Question 19

*9.the extroversion/introversion-neuroticism/stability ‘poles’

Answer 19

Extroversion-an outgoing, overtly expressive person.

Introversion-a shy, reticent, and typically self-centered person.

(circle diagram)

Question 20

9.’state’ vs. ‘trait’

Answer 20

Emotion is a state. A trait is an “extraversion”for example

Question 21

10.Fear and anxiety

Answer 21

Anxiety:is a negative emotion that alerts us to potentially threatening situations.

1. Helps us focus social evaluative stimuli
2. Activates reverberating circuits that give rise to ruminative thoughts

Reverberating thoughts refers to the phenomenon that once a neurological brain circuit has been activated, it tends to stay activated for a period in the absence of the stimulus that triggered it in the first place. Ruminative thoughts refers to thinking about ways of preventing social rejection and ostracization.

Gray has argued that fear is caused by the activation of the fight or flight system and that anxiety is caused by the activation of the behavioral inhibition system (BIS)

Question 22

10.behavioral inhibition system

Answer 22

consists of the septal-hippocampal system and closely related papez circuit

Question 23

10.negative affectivity (the blues sadness)

Answer 23

Negative affectivity (NA).
A mix of neuroticism and BIS Behavioral inhibition system
High NA people have more stress
Also, more NA in morning.
Suggests a subsystem, as no ‘unified person’ cognition is specific to mornings.

NA has many behavioral signs, e.g.,
people see ambiguous stimuli as threatening,
attention is drawn to potential threats in environment and
there are more unwanted/intrusive thoughts
Negative aspects of NA can be altered by practice.
Also by ‘Beck’s therapy for depression’ (discussed later).
Besides less negative emotion, altering NA can increase ‘apparent IQ,’ because of more WM resources.

Question 24

10.Pessimism and depression differences

Answer 24

Pessimism can be a cause of depression. But pessimism is not depression.Most depressed people are pessimistic, but not all pessimistic people are depressed.

Depression often includes
loss of motivation,
loss of interest in life, and
(sometimes) suicidal thoughts.
Pessimism may lack all threeDepression is very closely tied to anxiety.
Between 20-70% correlation.
Note that melancholy ('depression') and the BIS have the same location on the extroversion-neuroticism \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
And BIS is Gray's 'anxiety' subsystem.

Three types of depression
‘Normal’ (the ‘occasional blues’).
‘Unipolar’ (_________ depression).
‘Bipolar’ (AKA manic-depression).

Question 25

10.Gray’s theory

Answer 25

Inputs > Signals of punishment, signals of nonreward novel stimuli

Stop, Look, and Listen > Behavioral inhibition system > anti anxiety drug

Outputs> Behavioral inhibition increased arousal increased attention

Gary argues that the Behavioral Inhibition can be conditioned

Question 26

10.antianxiety drugs

Answer 26

chlordiazepoxide (Librium) Diazepam (Valium) belong to a class of drugs called benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines.themselves have receptor sites, and when they bind to these sites, they increase the ability to GABA to bind. When Valium binds with its receptor site, like a key in a lock it changes shape of the GABA site

Question 27

10.Mz/Dz twins

Answer 27

Mz (identical) vs. Dz (fraternal) twins.

Mz are 4-5 times as likely as Dz to be depressed if the other twin is depressed.

Question 28

10.brain hemispheres

Answer 28

Depression is linked to right-hemisphere (RH) activation.
E.g., RH damage may even lead to a ‘manic’ (hyper-happy) state.
There is a controversy as to why RH and _________ are linked.
One theory: RH may inhibit LH, and LH may cause happiness.
–but why LH (‘verbal hemisphere’) might cause happiness is not clear.

Question 29

10.neurotransmitters

Answer 29

Neurotransmitter (NT) systems.
Low norepinephrine (nor-e) and dopamine (dop.) have been linked with depression.
E.g., high nor-e and dop. cause mania.
Low serotonin (ser.) has been linked more often.
Both the most common prescription (Prozac) and non-prescription (St. John’s wort) treatments increase ser..
Current thinking: There may be different types of depression, due to different NT subsystems.
Evolution: BIS may originally have kept mammals still in times of danger.

Question 30

10.nor-e norepinephrine and dopamine

Answer 30

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. Dopamine also helps regulate movement and emotional responses, and it enables us not only to see rewards, but to take action to move toward them. Dopamine deficiency results in Parkinson’s Disease, and people with low dopamine activity may be more prone to addiction. The presence of a certain kind of dopamine receptor is also associated with sensation-seeking people, more commonly known as “risk takers.”

Question 31

10.serotonin

Answer 31

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is a chemical found in the human body.

It carries signals along and between nerves - a neurotransmitter. It is mainly found in the brain, bowels and blood platelets.

Serotonin is thought to be especially active in constricting smooth muscles, transmitting impulses between nerve cells, regulating cyclic body processes and contributing to wellbeing and happiness.1

Serotonin is regarded by some researchers as a chemical that is responsible for maintaining mood balance, and that a deficit of serotonin leads to depression.

Question 32

10.Prozac

Answer 32

Prozac (fluoxetine) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressant. The way fluoxetine works is still not fully understood. It is thought to positively affect communication between nerve cells in the central nervous system and/or restore chemical balance in the brain.

Prozac is used to treat major depressive disorder, bulimia nervosa (an eating disorder) obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder.

Prozac is sometimes used together with another medication called olanzapine (Zyprexa). to treat depression caused by bipolar disorder (manic depression). This combination is also used to treat depression after at least 2 other medications have been tried without successful treatment of symptoms.

Prozac may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Question 33

10. learned helplessness

Answer 33

If animals learn that movement cannot help they may not move
even when conditions change (and movement would help)
Experiments show that LH is due only to lack of control of outcomes,
not to pain, stress, etc.

LH deficits: Mainly BIS-related.
LH-related emotions: Anxiety and depression (both BIS).
Failure to learn (i.e., ‘behavior inhibition’).
Failure to learn (= an internal ‘failure to respond’).
–a person who ‘fails to learn’ is an ‘external’ (= ‘fails to respond’ to ability to change external world).
LH immunization: Pretrain people that they can be effective.

Question 34

10.explanatory style (the three main patterns)

Answer 34

Learned Helplessness and explanatory style (ES)
1/3 do not get LH in LH training.
They have an ‘optimistic ES.’
1) Temporary vs. permanent.
E.g., ‘I didn’t succeed, but that’s ONLY temporary.’
Pessimists tend to have ‘temporary’ ES when events are good.
–‘won’t last.’

2) Specific vs. universal.
E.g., ‘I didn’t succeed at this specific task, but I’m still good in general.’
Pessimists: ‘Specific’ ES when successful.
–‘doesn’t happen in other areas.’

3) External vs. internal.
E.g., ‘not my fault.’
Pessimists: ‘External’ ES in good outcome.
–‘just a lucky shot.’

Question 35

10.rumination and depression (overthinking)

Answer 35

Rumination: ‘Keep depressing ideas in mind.’

Pessimist ruminators are more depressed.

Question 36

10.gender differences in depression

Answer 36

Women are twice as likely to be depressed. Rumination/distraction theory: women ruminate on depressed thoughts while men distract themselves.

Question 37

10.Beck’s cognitive theory

Answer 37

Depressed people build up a depressed ‘schema,’ = an organized framework interpreting the world in depressed ways.
Schema ‘abstracts’ only depression-confirming info. from environment.
Depressed people also
Exaggerate the negative.
Overgeneralize negative self-qualities.
Similar to ‘universal’ explanatory style.
Have dichotomous (everything black or white) thinking.

Question 38

10.know the three steps (from lecture)

Answer 38

Beck’s cognitive therapy for depression:
Step 1: Be alert for automatic, depression-causing thoughts (e.g., “I’m so tired,” “I can’t make this work”).
Step 2: Spot the distortions (e.g., lack of evidence that I will not succeed).
Step 3: Counter the distortions with self-talk (e.g., “I’m not really very tired at all”).
More effective than any other therapy except drugs (and, often, drugs have bad side effects, e.g., dry mouth).

Question 39

10.Guilt and shame (G/S)

Answer 39

Guilt and shame fit ‘unified person’ view better than subsystems view.
More neocortex/thought,
so, more reflection of cultural learning.
Guilt and shame tend to be culturally different.
Many cultures still semi-communitarian.
Called ‘collectivist’ cultures
Example: Japan, China, much of South America.
Shame is more of a ‘collectivist’ emotion; guilt is more ‘individualistic.’

Biological component
Evolution.
Guilt and shame (G/S) help maintain social relations.
Izard: G/S helps prevent resource waste and exploitation of others.
So: Clear adaptive value.
Problem: ‘Cheating’ others also has adaptive value.
Also, tribe of ‘helpers’ might be less able to fight than tribe of ‘cheaters.’
So, unclear how ‘helper’ emotions (e.g., G/S) would have been ‘selected’ by evolution.
Large controversy in evolutionary theory.

Question 40

10.Freud’s theory (lecture)

Answer 40

Freud’s theory: Guilt part of ‘superego.’
Superego emerges when child ‘accepts defeat’ by same-sex parent.
Guilt = fear loss-of-love by that parent.
Freud’s theory is a mix of culture and evolutionary theory.
Guilt, shame (G/S) and conscience.
Freud’s ‘superego’ is the ‘conscience’ in his theory.
G/S issue closely related to conscience,
in general.

Question 41

10.The three child-discipline strategies

Answer 41

Learned component.
Guilt can be learned through empathy or anxiety/fear (e.g., Freud’s = anxiety/_________).
Disciplining children: Power, love withdrawal, explanation.
Power (‘I’m stronger, so do it’) leads to shallow learning.
Little self-identification with parent’s goal (‘mice play when cat’s away’).
Love withdrawal leads to ‘conventional-rigid’ children (‘follow rules’).
Explanation (‘induction’) leads to humanistic-flexible children (empathy-guilt, not anxiety/fear guilt).

Question 42

10.G/S and individualism/collectivism

Answer 42

‘Communitarianism’ vs. ‘individualism.’
Earlier societies tended to be more ‘communitarian’ (e.g., whole villages were like large families).
More sense of what is expected (and people expected to fit community standards).
The modern ‘West’ (e.g., Europe, U.S.) is more ‘individualistic’ (‘you do your thing, and I’ll do my own thing; if we get together fine, if not, fine’).
Seems like ‘freedom’ to us, but tends to cause a lot of depression.

Question 43

11. Happiness

Answer 43

Twin studies show that happiness level is about 50% inherited.
Happiness is correlated with left prefrontal cortexactivation.

Brain ‘reward pathway’ (BRP).
Main neurotransmitters (NTs): Dopamine and norepinephrine (nor-e).
These NTs also activated by drug _________.
There is strong evidence that drugs activate BRP.
Also evidence that BRP is activated in behaviors that are ‘reinforcing.’
–e.g., skiing, talking with friends.

Question 44

11. the three myths

Answer 44

Some have suggested that less than 20% of people are happy.
So people always return to their previous level of happiness after triumph or loss.

Some kinds of events can increase happiness levels over the long term.
E.g., getting married or learning to play music.

Money

Question 45

11.Coping

Answer 45

Uncertainty and coping.
Nor-e increase has been shown when animals ‘reinforced’ by avoiding pain.
Also, nor-e decrease when pain cannot be avoided.
An interaction between bio. (nor-e) and learning (rein. ‘coping learning.

Question 46

11.nor-e, progress/behavioral coping and happiness

Answer 46

Learning: Sometimes more nor-e if ‘coping’ more difficult.
More nor-e, more reinforcement, more learning.
May also learn: ‘Hard task is better.’
Learning and cognition.
We may be driven to ‘seize the day’ by having been reinforced by self-efficacy in the past.
A good example of a ‘positive spiral’:
Face challenge->succeed->rein. by ‘self-efficacy’->
hope and courage to face new challenge->succeed, etc..

Question 47

11.Efficacy

Answer 47

the ability to produce a desired or intended result

Question 48

11.self-efficacy

Answer 48

Humans reports a sense of ‘self-efficacy’ when accomplishing a goal.
‘Self-efficacy’ feeling is reinforcing.
Nor-e may be involved in ‘self-efficacy’ feeling.

Question 49

11.failure to act

Answer 49

Happiness as coping with uncertainty.
Fear of uncertain outcomes leads to inaction.
Close to ‘anxiety.’
May evoke sad’behavioral inhibition system’ feeling.
Also, ‘failure to act’ is the most common regret.

Question 50

11.nor-e, epinephrine, challenge, and happiness

Answer 50

Happiness and risk-taking behavior.
If ‘coping with uncertainty’ brings happiness, perhaps seeking uncertainty (i.e., taking risks) might _________ happiness.
Uncertainty might add epinephrine (arousal) to nor-e of coping.
Make coping a ‘thrill.’

Question 51

11.best level of challenge

Answer 51

Happiness-related neurotransmitters (e.g., nor-e) are highest at moderate level of perceived efficacy.
A challenge is better than perfect efficacy.
Compare ‘flow.’
Happiness may = being aroused without being afraid.
Some risk-takers keep increasing their risk level.
The risk-happiness connection may have a danger of abuse.

Question 52

11.risk taking and efficacy

Answer 52

Risk and dealing with fear.
Many people avoid risks due to fear.
Risk-takers deal with fear/anxiety by being convinced of ‘self-efficacy.’
Also, ‘outcome efficacy’ (belief that outcome will be worthwhile).
Both ‘efficacy’ factors are cognitive.
Main factor: How we think about our coping skills.

Question 53

11.Optimisim and hope

Answer 53

Optimism: General expectation that good (not bad) outcomes will occur.

Hope:: Expectation that specific good outcomes will occur (with a sense that one’s actions can help them occur

Question 54

11.characteristics of optimists

Answer 54

Optimists/hopeful people (o/h) tend to persist (and even work harder) when times are hard.
‘When the going gets tough the tough get going.’
Some people consider o/h foolish.
And many say ‘hard to be o/h when knowledgeable.’
Many sayings (e.g., ‘fools rush in where wise men fear to tread.
O/h may be related to extroversion, pessimism to neuroticism.
Perhaps even more closely to Gray’s ‘behavioral approach system’ (cf. ‘rushing in’) and ‘behavioral inhibition system’ (cf. ‘why bother moving?’).

Optimism (e.g., ‘hunting when game is scarce’) may have a survival advantage.

Question 55

11.Responses superior to pessimists mainly when ‘times are tough’

Answer 55

pessimism does not thrive optimism does

Question 56

11. Seligman: difference between optimism and hope (text p. 320)

Answer 56

Seligman: Optimism can be learned as a thinking style.
Related to ‘explanatory styles’ discussed earlier.
An optimist regards setbacks as ‘temporary,’ ‘limited to present situation’ and ‘externally caused.’
Seligman: Hope only includes the ‘temporary’ and ‘situation-limited’ aspects.

Question 57

11.Snyder’s agents/pathways definition of hope

Answer 57

Snyder defines hope more broadly than Seligman and others.
Hopeful people:
Believe they can succeed, as agents, in achieving success
Believe they can creatively discover previously unknown pathways (i.e., new methods) toward success.

Question 58

11.related outcomes

Answer 58

x

Question 59

11.Belonging, attachment, community

Answer 59

People with good social support systems have much more ‘positivity’ in their lives.
Very related to the ‘communitarian’ concept discussed earlier.
BAC is more noticed now.
Social support systems used to be provided by family
–now family influence are less present in society.
BAC related to person’s ‘sense of self-worth.’

‘Need to belong’ may be innate.
Related to evolution and morality/conscience issue discussed earlier.
Mammals have BAC-related hormones (e.g., endorphins and oxytocin).
Released when BAC-related activities occur.
A ‘middle step’ in Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of human needs.’

Question 60

11.Importance of social support

Answer 60

Much evidence that social support systems _________ health.

Especially in times of crisis.

Question 61

11.attachment

Answer 61

Three attachment styles (AS):
60%Secure, 30%anxious ambivalent, and 5% anxious avoidant.
Good evidence that AS is partly innate, partly learned.
Also good evidence that attachment styles that children have predict adult love-attachment styles.