The Mind At Work

Question 1

What is consciousness?

Answer 1

• Consciousness is a person’s awareness of her or his sensations, thoughts, and feelings at a given moment. Waking consciousness can vary from more active to more passive states
• Altered states of consciousness include naturally occurring sleep and dreaming, as well as hypnotic and drug-induced states.

Question 2

Summarize the stages of sleep

Answer 2

Using the electroencephalogram, or EEG, to study sleep, scientists have found that the brain is active throughout the night, and that sleep proceeds through a series of stages identified by unique patterns of brain waves.

Question 3

Explain REM sleep

Answer 3

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is characterized by an increase in heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, an increase in the rate of breathing, and, in males, erections. Dreams occur during this stage.

Question 4

Explain why we sleep and how much sleep is necessary

Answer 4

• Sleep is a requirement for normal functioning, although it is not yet known why it is necessary.
• There is great variability regarding how much people sleep.

Question 5

Differentiate the explanations of dreaming

Answer 5

• Freud suggested dreams have both a manifest content (the story line) and a latent content (the true meaning).
• The dreams-for-survival theory suggests that information relevant to daily survival is reconsidered and reprocessed in dreams.
• The activation-synthesis theory proposes that dreams are a result of random electrical energy that stimulates different memories, which then are woven into a coherent story line.

Question 6

State the impact of sleep disturbances

Answer 6

• Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty sleeping. Sleep apnea is a condition in which people have difficulty sleeping and breathing at the same time. People with narcolepsy have an uncontrollable urge to sleep. Sleepwalking and sleeptalking are relatively harmless.
• Psychologists and sleep researchers advise people with insomnia to increase exercise during the day, avoid caffeine and sleeping pills, drink a glass of warm milk before bedtime, and try to avoid going to sleep.

Question 7

Explain circadian rhythms

Answer 7

• Circadian rhythms are biological processes that occur regularly on approximately a 24-hour cycle.
• Sleep, wakefulness, body temperature, and other bodily functions follow circadian rhythms.

Question 8

Define hypnosis

Answer 8

Hypnosis produces a state of heightened susceptibility to the suggestions of the hypnotist. Under hypnosis, significant behavioral changes occur, including increased concentration and suggestibility, heightened ability to recall and construct images, lack of initiative, and acceptance of suggestions that clearly contradict reality.

Question 9

Describe the effects of meditation

Answer 9

• Meditation is a learned technique for refocusing attention that brings about an altered state of consciousness.
• Different cultures have developed their own unique ways to alter states of consciousness.

Question 10

Explain the effects of stimulants

Answer 10

• Drugs can produce an altered state of consciousness. However, they vary in how dangerous they are and in whether they are addictive.
• Stimulants cause arousal in the central nervous system. Two common stimulants are caffeine and nicotine. More dangerous are cocaine and amphetamines, which in large quantities can lead to convulsions and death.

Question 11

Explain the effects of depressants

Answer 11

• Depressants decrease arousal in the central nervous system. They can cause intoxication along with feelings of euphoria. The most common depressants are alcohol and barbiturates.
• Alcohol is the most frequently used depressant. Its initial effects of released tension and positive feelings yield to depressive effects as the dose of alcohol increases. Both heredity and environmental stressors can lead to alcoholism.

Question 12

Explain the effects of narcotics

Answer 12

Morphine and heroin are narcotics, drugs that produce relaxation and relieve pain and anxiety. Because of their addictive qualities, morphine and heroin are particularly dangerous.

Question 13

Explain the effects of hallucinogens

Answer 13

• Hallucinogens are drugs that produce hallucinations or other changes in perception. The most frequently used hallucinogen is marijuana, which has several long-term risks. Two other hallucinogens are LSD and Ecstasy.
• A number of signals indicate when drug use becomes drug abuse. A person who suspects that he or she has a drug problem should get professional help. People are almost never capable of solving drug problems on their own.

Question 14

Describe the basics of classical conditioning and how they relate to learning

Answer 14

• One major form of learning is classical conditioning, which occurs when a neutral stimulus—one that normally brings about no relevant response—is repeatedly paired with a stimulus (called an unconditioned stimulus) that brings about a natural, untrained response.
• After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus elicits the same response that the unconditioned stimulus brings about. When this occurs, the neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus, and the response a conditioned response.

Question 15

Give examples of applying conditioning principles to human behavior

Answer 15

Examples of classical conditioning include the development of emotions and fears.

Question 16

Explain extinction

Answer 16

Learning is not always permanent. Extinction occurs when a previously learned response decreases in frequency and eventually disappears.

Question 17

Discuss stimulus generalization and discrimination

Answer 17

Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a conditioned response to follow a stimulus that is similar to, but not the same as, the original conditioned stimulus. The converse phenomenon, stimulus discrimination, occurs when an organism learns to distinguish between stimuli.

Question 18

Define the basics of operant conditioning

Answer 18

• Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which a voluntary behavior is strengthened or weakened. According to B. F. Skinner, the major mechanism underlying learning is reinforcement, the process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated.
• Primary reinforcers are rewards that are naturally effective without prior experience because they satisfy a biological need. Secondary reinforcers act as if they were primary reinforcers through association with a primary one.

Question 19

Explain reinforcers and punishment

Answer 19

• Positive reinforcers are stimuli that are added to the environment and lead to an increase in a preceding response. Negative reinforcers are stimuli that remove something unpleasant from the environment, also leading to an increase in the preceding response.
• Punishment decreases the probability that a prior behavior will occur. Positive punishment weakens a response through the application of an unpleasant stimulus, whereas negative punishment weakens a response by the removal of something positive. In contrast to reinforcement, in which the goal is to increase the incidence of behavior, punishment is meant to decrease or suppress behavior.

Question 20

Present the pros and cons of punishment

Answer 20

• Although punishment often presents the quickest route to changing behavior that, if allowed to continue, might be dangerous to an individual, it has disadvantages that make its routine use questionable. For example, punishment is frequently ineffective, particularly if it is not delivered shortly after the undesired behavior. Worse, physical punishment can convey to the recipient the idea that physical aggression is permissible and perhaps even desirable.
• The research findings are clear: reinforcing desired behavior is a more appropriate technique for modifying behavior than using punishment.

Question 21

Discuss schedules of reinforcement

Answer 21

• Schedules and patterns of reinforcement affect the strength and duration of learning. Generally, partial reinforcement schedules—in which reinforcers are not delivered on every trial—produce stronger and longer-lasting learning than do continuous reinforcement schedules.
• Among the major categories of reinforcement schedules are fixed- and variable-ratio schedules, which are based on the number of responses made; and fixed- and variable-interval schedules, which are based on the time interval that elapses before reinforcement is provided.

Question 22

Explain the concept of shaping

Answer 22

Shaping is a process for teaching complex behaviors by rewarding closer and closer approximations of the desired final behavior.

Question 23

Explain latent learning and how it works in humans

Answer 23

Cognitive approaches to learning consider learning in terms of thought processes, or cognition. Phenomena such as latent learning—in which a new behavior is learned but not performed until some incentive is provided for its performance—and the apparent development of cognitive maps support cognitive approaches.

Question 24

Discuss the influence of observational learning in acquiring skills

Answer 24

• Learning also occurs from observing the behavior of others. The major factor that determines whether an observed behavior will actually be performed is the nature of the reinforcement or punishment a model receives.
• Observational learning, which may have a genetic basis, is particularly important in acquiring skills in which the operant conditioning technique of shaping is inappropriate.

Question 25

Describe research findings about observational learning and media violence

Answer 25

• Observation of violence is linked to a greater likelihood of subsequently acting aggressively.
• Experiencing violent media content seems to lower inhibitions against carrying out aggression; may distort our understanding of the meaning of others’ behavior, predisposing us to view even nonaggressive acts by others as aggressive; and desensitizes us to violence.

Question 26

Define sensory memory

Answer 26

Sensory memory, corresponding to each of the sensory systems, is the first place where information is saved. Sensory memories are very brief, but they are precise, storing a nearly exact replica of a stimulus.

Question 27

Define short-term memory

Answer 27

Roughly seven (plus or minus two) chunks of information can be transferred and held in short-term memory. Information in short-term memory is held from 15 to 25 seconds and, if not transferred to long-term memory, is lost.

Question 28

Define long-term memory

Answer 28

• Memories are transferred into long-term storage through rehearsal. If memories are transferred into long-term memory, they become relatively permanent.
• Long-term memory can be viewed in terms of memory modules, each of which is related to separate memory systems in the brain. For instance, we can distinguish between declarative memory and procedural memory. Declarative memory is further divided into semantic and episodic memory.

Question 29

Explain retrieval cues

Answer 29

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is the temporary inability to remember information that one is certain one knows. Retrieval cues are a major strategy for recalling information successfully.

Question 30

Discuss levels of processing

Answer 30

The levels-of-processing approach to memory suggests that the way in which information is initially perceived and analyzed determines the success with which it is recalled. The deeper the initial processing, the greater the recall.

Question 31

Compare and contrast implicit and explicit memory

Answer 31

Explicit memory refers to intentional or conscious recollection of information. In contrast, implicit memory refers to memories of which people are not consciously aware, but which can affect subsequent performance and behavior.

Question 32

Define flashbulb memories

Answer 32

Flashbulb memories are memories centered on a specific, important event. The more distinctive a memory is, the more easily it can be retrieved

Question 33

Describe the constructive processes of memory

Answer 33

• Memory is a constructive process: we relate memories to the meaning, guesses, and expectations we give to events. Specific information is recalled in terms of schemas, organized bodies of information stored in memory that bias the way new information is interpreted, stored, and recalled.
• Autobiographical memory is influenced by constructive processes

Question 34

Explain the importance of forgetting

Answer 34

Forgetting, or memory failure, plays several important roles.

Question 35

Explain why we forget information

Answer 35

• Several processes account for memory failure, including decay, interference (both proactive and retroactive), and cue-dependent forgetting.
• Among the techniques for improving memory are the keyword technique to memorize foreign language vocabulary; using the encoding specificity phenomenon; organizing text material and lecture notes; and practice and rehearsal, leading to overlearning.

Question 36

Compare and contrast proactive and retroactive interference

Answer 36

• Proactive interference is interference in which information learned earlier disrupts the recall of newer material.
• Retroactive interference is interference in which there is difficulty in the recall of information learned earlier because of later exposure to different material

Question 37

Explain the concept of mental images

Answer 37

• Thinking is the manipulation of mental representations of information. Thinking transforms such representations into novel and different forms, permitting people to answer questions, solve problems, and reach goals.
• Mental images are representations in the mind of an object or event

Question 38

Discuss the process of categorizing the world

Answer 38

Concepts are categorizations of objects, events, or people that share common properties. Prototypes are representative examples of concepts.

Question 39

Describe the processes that underlie reasoning and decision making

Answer 39

Decisions sometimes (but not always) may be improved through the use of algorithms and heuristics. An algorithm is a rule that, if applied appropriately, guarantees a solution; a heuristic is a cognitive shortcut that may lead to a solution but is not guaranteed to do so.

Question 40

Explain how people approach and solve problems

Answer 40

• Problem solving typically involves three major stages: preparation, production of solutions, and evaluation of solutions that have been generated.
• A crucial aspect of the preparation stage is the representation and organization of the problem.
• In the production stage, people try to generate solutions. They may find solutions to some problems in long-term memory. Alternatively, they may solve some problems through simple trial and error and use algorithms and heuristics to solve more complex problems.
• Using the heuristic of a means-ends analysis, a person will repeatedly test for differences between the desired outcome and what currently exists, trying each time to come closer to the goal.
• Several factors hinder effective problem-solving. Functional fixedness is the tendency to think of an object only in terms of the way it is most frequently or typically used. Inappropriate use of algorithms and heuristics can also act as an obstacle to the production of solutions.

Question 41

Describe how people use language

Answer 41

Language is the communication of information through symbols arranged according to systematic rules.

Question 42

Explain how language develops

Answer 42

• Language production develops out of babbling, which then leads to the production of actual words. After 1 year of age, children use two-word combinations, increase their vocabulary, and use telegraphic speech, which drops words not critical to the message. By age 5, acquisition of language rules is relatively complete.
• Learning theorists suggest that language is acquired through reinforcement and conditioning. In contrast, the nativist approach suggests that an innate language-acquisition device guides the development of language. The interactionist approach argues that language development is produced through a combination of genetically determined predispositions and environmental circumstances that help teach language.
• The linguistic-relativity hypothesis suggests that language shapes and may determine the way people think about the world. Most evidence suggests that although language does not determine thought, it does influence it.
• People who speak more than one language may have a cognitive advantage over those who speak only one.