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Universities » University of Virginia (UVA) » PSYC - Psychology » 1010 - Introductory Psychology » Flash Cards

Final Exam - Flashcards

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Class:PSYC 1010 - Introductory Psychology
Subject:Psychology
University:University of Virginia
Term:Fall 2009
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THEME #1: Expectations Influence Outcomes Subliminal Self-Help Tapes: Content of the tapes does not matter at all, the label is all that matters The individuals perception influences their behavior Placebo Effect: Treatment which affects your behavior through the power of suggestion Rosenthal & Jacobson Decides which students are the smartest in a Lower School classroom At the end of the year, the students who were called smarter, actually performed better than the other students The teacher's expectations of the smarter
THEME #2: Theories Drive Perception, Language and Memory Perception: "Top Down" Theory Testing Prior knowledge that we have Sensation: "Bottom Up" Data Assembly From what you see and experience Change Blindness: Illusion that we are encoding a lot of details from an event, when in reality we are encoding very sparse details Ex. Man answering phone was a different person in different clothes Problems Extracting Meaning "Deaf school never heard of benefactor" "Doctors urge wider colon tests" Only focusing on individual words, may miss
THEME #3: The Mind is not Unitary Brain and Mind are in multiple parts with different functions Hypothalamus and Thalamus are different parts of the brain Corpus Callosum patients (Split brain) See bike on the left, say they don't see anything, yet they draw a bike with their left hand Left hemisphere controls verbal (why he didn't verbally recognize what he saw)
THEME #4: Situations Can Exert Enormous Power Over an Individual's Behavior Fundamental Attribution Error Essay about Castro People give too much weight to personality and not enough to situational variables Psychiatrists Most thought hardly any one would go to the end of the shock experiment Found out that 2/3 of people will go all the way Situations are powerful, hard to resist authority
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THEME #5: Humans Have a Hard Time Figuring Out What They Will Do, How They Do It, and Why They Did It Impact Bias Talk about emotions before and after a break up People do not actually feel as bad at they expected Tend to be biased and think that the impact of an event will last longer than it actually does
THEME #6: Our Identities Are Products of Both Biological Factors and Social Environments Mental Disorders You might have a predisposition of schizophrenia yet: Healthy environments might lead you to never show the disorder Disturbed environments might bring out the worst in you
What is Psychology? A science of the mind and behavior
Dualism The idea that the world is composed of 2 distinct categories of substance Mental substance (the soul) and Physical substance (the body) The mind is a product of the soul Decartes's modified Dualism Since animals have no soul, much behavior does not require a soul Body can control much behavior and this can be studied without worrying about being put to death by the church Argued that the soul's main function was thought - a uniquely human attribute
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Monism Belief that the world can be explained by only one category of substance Mind is a product of the brain, not a product of the soul
Materialism The view that nothing exists except for matter and energy All human thought and behavior can be explained in terms of physical processes in the body - in the brain in particular Brain and mental functions help understand the mind (Hobbes)
Empiricism All human thought and knowledge are acquired from sensory experience (Locke, Hume, MIll)
Nativism The idea that certain elementary ideas are innate to the human mind and do not need to be learned Ex. Language (Plato & Immanuel Kant)
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Phrenology Studying the faculties of the human brain based on a materialistic view Failed attempt to localize cognitive functions in the brain (Gall) 1. The brain is the organ of the mind 2. THe mind is composed of distinct, innate faculties 3. Because they are distinct, each faculty must occupy a distinct part or "organ" in the brain 4. The size of an organ, other things being equal, is a measure of its power 5. The Shape of the brain is determined by the development of the various organ
Broca's Area Difficulty with speech production, but patients have relatively spared comprehension of language and have problems with repeating Left inferior frontal gyrus of the brain
Wernicke's Aphasia Produce speech fluently, but content of the speech is relatively meaningless
Theory of Natural Selection 1. Animal's attributes can be inherited 2. Those survival attributes are more likely to be passed from generations 3. All attributes can evolve, including those that underlie mental processes 4. All animals shaped by natural selection
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Introspectionism The study of conscious mental events by "introspecting" or "looking within" Problems: One person's impressions are often very different from another's; Lack of public access to one's thoughts; Many interesting metal events are unconscious
Behaviorism Restrict psychology to truly objective, observable data Mind is like a black box - results cannot be observed Emphasis on what can be directly observed: stimuli, responses, reinforcements/ rewards Problems: Limiting science to observable things is a bad idea - who has ever actually seen an electron?
Cognitive Infer what is going on inside the brain (into the black box) 4 Types: Developmental Biological Clinical Social
Developmental Perspective (Cognitive) The study of physical, cognitive, and social change across the lifespan
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Biological Perspective (Cognitive) Study of the physiological mechanisms in the brain and nervous system that organize and control behavior Focus may be at various levels Individual neurons Areas of the brain Interest in behavior distinguishes biological psychology from many other biological sciences
Clinical Perspective (Cognitive) View of behavior based on studying mental disorders
Social Perspective (Cognitive) Examines the influence of social processes on the way people think, feel, and behave
Scientific Theory Explains through an integrated set of principles and predicts observable behaviors or events Must generate testable predictions (hypotheses) that can show the theory to be false
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Scientific Psychology Goals: Describe - Characterize the features of behavior Predict - Relate two or more variables informatively Explain - Understand the cause that lead variables to be related
Correlation A measure of the degree to which one variable is related to another. Ex. Time of year and Mood Positive Correlation: Ice cream consumption and violent crime (both increase) Negative Correlation: Grades and TV viewing (grades decrease as TV viewing increases) No Relation: IQ and Height (random scatter) r = Correlation Coefficient: + or - correlation; 0.00 - 1.00 strength of relationship Correlation does NOT mean causality (There can always be a third factor)
Experimental Study Method of determining cause and effect by manipulating certain variables and observing the effect on some behavior
Independent Variable Controlled factor in an experiment, hypothesized to cause an effect on another variable
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Dependent Variable What is measured, what is hypothesized to be affected
Random Assignment Every subject in the study should have an equal chance of being placed in any of the conditions (Randomization helps avoid false results)
Experimenter Expectancy Experimenter unconsciously treats groups differently. (This is sometimes referred to as Observer expectancy) Bias in the results that is produced from the researcher’s expectation that subjects will behave in a certain way
Subject Expectancy Subject has theories about the experiment which influence how he or she performs [e.g., Placebo Effect ]
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Placebo Effect A treatment that alters a person's behavior or feelings through the power of suggestion Ex. 1) Wisdom teeth: Some given anesthetic and some saline solution Ex. 2) Subliminal Self-Help: Given tapes for either self-esteem or memory (some of the labels were mixed up); result = subjects thought they were learning whatever the tape told them even if it was the opposite subject) Ex. 3) Arthroscopic knee surgery: Some just given a cut, some actually had the procedure; result = Sham surgery had 35%
Double-Blind A procedure in which both the experimenter and the subjects are ignorant (blind) about the conditions the subjects are in. Purpose: So neither the experimenter nor the subject will have expectations about how subjects should perform in a particular condition.
Random Sampling Every item (e.g., person) has an equal probability of being selected for the sample -- i.e., no selection biases
Descriptive Statistics Mode The most frequently occurring score in a distribution Mean (also called Average) The arithmetic average of a distribution Obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores Median The middle score in a distribution Half the scores are above it and half are below it
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Central Nervous System The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system that functions to coordinate the activity of all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals Made up of the spinal cord and brain
Peripheral Nervous System Set of nerves that connects the CNS to the sensory organs, muscles, and glands Autonomic: Controls self-regulated action of internal organs and glands Sympathetic: When you are stressed out, this system calms you down Parasympathetic: Regenerates and vitalizes the body; stimulates the digestive processes)
Spinal Cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue called tracts and support cells that extends from the brain. Ascending Tract: Carries sensory info brought in by the spinal nerves up to the brain Descending Tract: Carries motor-control info down from the brain to be transmitted out by the spinal nerves to the muscles
Brainstem (Hindbrain) Responsible for automatic survival functions, such as controlling breathing and the heartbeat Consists of Pons, Medulla & Cerebellum
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Cerebellum Motor control, posture, important for rapid, well-timed movements; damage to the cerebellum can result in impairments of skilled motor activity
Thalamus Sensory relay station that receives input from most of the sensory modalities -- vision, audition, etc.
Basal Ganglia Lies on each side of the Thalamus Motor control (especially intentional movements) Parkinson's disease affects the nerves running into the basal ganglia [ex. Operation game]
Amygdala Processing and regulation of emotional states Amygdalaectomy = No fear conditioning
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Hippocampus Key for building long term memories Damage to this area will prevent any new long term memories, but their memories prior to the damage will be retained
Hypothalamus Regulars many basic body functions: hunger, thirst, sleep, & body temperature
Cerebral Cortex Outermost layer and largest part of the brain, accounting for roughly 80% of its total volume 1/3 is visible, the remaining 2/3’s are hidden within the many folds and fissures It is between 1 and 4 mm thick Divided into left and right hemispheres Overview of Functions Necessities --> Luxuries Breathing Repetitive movement Sensory information Emotion, motivation, simple judgement Volunta
Specialization of Function Parietal Lobe: Bodily sensations Frontal Lobe: Speaking, imaging, and thinking Temporal Lobe: Hearing and language comprehension Occipital Lobe: VIsion
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Motor Cortex Describes regions of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary motor functions. Located at the rear of the frontal lobes Different parts of each cortex control the motor in each body part The more cortex devoted to a body part, the finer control we have over that body part
Sensory Cortex Registers body sensations Located at the front of the parietal lobes Different parts of each cortex control the motor in each body part The more cortex devoted to a body part, the finer control we have over that body part
Homunculus Any representation of a human being A figure designed to represent what you would look like if the size of your body parts was determined by how much space they are given in your motor and sensory cortices
Motor Crossover Right hemisphere controls left side of the body Left hemisphere controls right side of the body
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Visual Crossover Left visual field to the right hemisphere Right visual field to the left hemisphere
Corpus Callosum Large bundle of neural fibers (axons, specifically) connecting the two brain hemispheres The main pathway that links and sends communication between the two hemispheres Permits date received in one hemisphere to be processed by the other hemisphere
Hemispheric Differences Left Hemisphere: 1. Language 2 Right side of the body 3. Right visual field Right Hemisphere: 1. Face recognition 2. Perceiving others' emotions 3. Left side of the body 4. Left visual field
Aphasia Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding)
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Frontal Lobes Makes up 1/3rd of the cortex Ex. Phineas Gage Suffered massive damage to frontal lobes and his personality changed - lost ability to inhibit the inappropriate thoughts and he just said anything he wanted to
Psychosurgery Psychosurgery is a subset of neurosurgery (surgery of the brain) intended to modulate the performance of the brain, and thus effect changes in cognition, with the intent to treat or alleviate severe mental illness. (Egas Moniz)
Spatial Resolution How close in physical proximity you can get to the target brain area
Temporal Resolution How close in time you can get to when the neurons fire
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Electroencephalography (EEG) Measures electrical signals associated with neural firing in brain areas [Excellent temporal resolution, poor, spatial resolution, non-invasive]
CT (Computed Tomography) Scan Version of X-ray which provides information about brain structure [Fair spatial resolution and no temporal resolution]
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) [Excellent spatial resolution, no temporal resolution, non-invasive)
fMRI Based on changes in oxygen consumption and blood flow, which are byproducts of neural activity [Provides great spatial resolution and it also images the brain in action, fair temporal resolution, non-invasive] Generating a functional image Neural activation causes: 1) a change in blood flow in that activated region; and 2) a change in the concentration of deoxygenated blood in that region BOLD (Blood oxygen level dependent): Oxygenated blood has different magnetic properties than deoxygenated
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Dendrite (in Neuron) The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
Cell Body Contains the cell's Nucleus Round, centrally located structure Contain DNA
Axon The extension of a neuron, ending in terminal fibers, through which messages are sent to other neurons or to muscles or glands The cell's output structure: One axon per cell, 2 distinct parts Tubelike structure and branches at end that connect to other cells May travel long distances to reach its destination (approx. 3 feet in humans)
Myelin Sheath White fatty casing on axon made of glial cells Acts as an electrical insulator Increases the speed of neural signals down the axon. It’s the whiteness of these fatty cells that gives rise to the name “White Matter.” Myelin Sheath is not party of the axon
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Sensory Neurons Send input from sensory areas to the brain and spinal cord Responsible for converting external stimuli from the environment into internal stimuli
Motor Neurons Send output from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands
Interneurons An interneuron (also called relay neuron, association neuron or local circuit neuron) is a multipolar neuron which carries information between other neurons
Neural Development Some takes place in the womb but continues after birth until the age of 18 Occipital lobes finish development first and the frontal lobes finish last
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"Wiring-up" Process The neurons start to wire up and form more and more connections
Plasticity Neural tissue can reorganize in response to damage, If the brain is still developing (i.e., a very young person)
Action Potential A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon and influences the activity of the receiving neuron. These action potential cause neurotransmitters to be released from the axon terminal which travel across the synapse and bind with receptor sites on the receiving cell Unidirectional Enhanced by myelin
Synapse Junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron
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Neurotransmitters Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons Effect on the receiving neuron can be either excitatory (making the receiving neuron more likely to fire) or inhibitory (making the receiving neuron less likely to fire)
Agonists Increase the effect of a neurotransmitter
Antagonists Interfere with the effect of a neurotransmitter
Alzheimer's Disease Disease is progressive, more and more brain regions become afflicted with time Causes Genetic, environmental, unknown Destroys brain tissue beginning with hippocampus cell death due to abnormal proteins deposited in the brain
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Sensation The construction of "reality" The process by which sense organs gather information about the environment and transmit it to the brain
Stages of Sensation 1. Stimulation: Energy contains information and the world and accessory structure modifies energy (stimulus) 2. Transduction: Translate physical stimuli in the environment into neural signals in the brain 3. Transmission: Sensory nerve transfers the coded activity tot eh central nervous system 4. Representation in the brain: Thalamus processes and relays neural response; cortex receives input and produces the sensation
Taste Bitter, Salty, Sweet, Sour, Umami (savory sensation) Receptors are in different areas of the tongue and are not distributed evenly throughout the tongue
Taste buds Contain taste receptors Each bud contains 50 - 150 taste receptor cells Send information to the Gustatory sensory neurons Most people have 2000 to 10000 taste buds with 2/3 on the tongue
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Smell Chemical receptors in the nose When you smell the sensory neurons activate and you can identify the smell Without smell it is hard to identify what you are tasting Woman are more accurate at identifying smells over men
Sound Frequency: Related to the pitch Amplitude: Related to the loudness of a sound
Ear Purpose: Measure the frequency (pitch) of sound waves Measure the amplitude (loudness) of sound waves
Outer Ear Acts as a funnel to direct sound waves towards inner structures
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Middle Ear Consists of three small bones (or ossicles) that amplify sound
Inner Ear Contains the structure that transduce sound into a neural response
Touch Pressure, warmth, pain, cold Receptors are the sensory neurons are in and below the epidermis
Pain A-delta Fibers (myelinated): Thick, fast conducting neurons (sharp, quick pain) C-Fibers (unmyelinated): Thin, slow conducting neurons (slow, throbbing pain)
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Gate-Control Theory Explains variability in the experience of painful events Argues that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain Increase or decrease pain by opening or shutting the "gate" Increase in pain sensitivity with illness Release of endorphins in brain can close the "gate" and dampen pai
Phantom Limb Pain The experience of pain does not always originate from pain receptors Roughly 80% of amputees have some phantom limb sensations The brain does not need sensory input from a body part in order to generate pain Brain is genetically wired to be connected to every part of the body and there is no perception that the limb is missing (common)
Vision Purpose of the visual system Transform light energy into a neural impulse Represent characteristics of objects in our environment such as size, color, shape, and location
Compound Eyes Multiple lenses (flies, lobsters, etc.)
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Simple Eyes Single lenses (humans, spiders, squid, etc.) Eye works like a camera, using a lens to focus light onto a photo-sensitive surface at the back of a sealed structure
Retina Light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye Light entering eye triggers photochemical reaction in rods and cones at the back of the retina
Rods Permit vision in dim light and are everywhere except in the fovea Concentrated in periphery Approx. 120 million Photoreceptors (i.e., receptor cells) which transduce (ie., convert) the energy in light into a neural response
Cones Permit color vision and are most concentrated in the fovea (the pinhead-size area of the retina that is in the most direct line of sight) C = Cones, Center, Color Concentrated in center of eye (fovea) Approx. 6 million Photoreceptors (i.e., receptor cells) which transduce (ie., convert) the energy in light into a neural response
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Fovea Point of central focus; where most of the cones are
Blind Spot Our visual system "fills in" this spot Always there, but we don't normally notice it Assumes that any given area in a visual scene has the same color, brightness, and texture as the immediately surrounding areas, in the absence of contrary information
Light Energy Electromagnetic energy hits our eyes Two key aspects of light 1. Our visual system interprets differences in the wavelength of light as color Short wavelength = high frequency (bluish colors, high-pitched sounds) Long wavelength = low frequency (reddish colors, low-pitched sounds) 2. Our visual system interprets differences in the amplitude of light as intensity Great amplitude (bright colors, loud sounds) Small amplitude (dull colors, soft sounds)
Color Vision All colors are created by 3 primary colors: Red, Green & Blue Rods are color blind (b/c only one type of rod), but with cones we can see all colors (b/c three types of cones)
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Color Blindness 5% of men and less than 1% of woman Monochromats have none or one functioning cone and respond to light like black and white film (extremely rare) Dichromats have two functioning cone systems (usually either green or red cone malfunctions)
Opponent Process Theory Some aspects of our color perception are difficult to explain by the trichromatic theory alone Example: afterimages If we view colored stimuli for an extended period of time, we will see an afterimage in a complementary color To account for phenomena like complementary afterimages, Ewald Herring proposed that we have different types of color-opponent cells Red-green opponent cells Blue-yellow opponent cells Black-white opponent cells Our current view of color vision is that it
Sensation A message that our brain receives from one of the senses
Perception Process of using prior knowledge and experience to interpret and make sense of these sensations Perceptions of the world result from a combination of sensory information (data-driven) and pre-existing knowledge (concept-driven)
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Visual Agnosias (Occipital Lobe to Temporal Lobe) Inability to learn about and recognize objects by sight Can recognize objects using other sensory modalities – touch, smell, taste, sound Can draw, but not copy, objects
Prosapognosia Described by a patient with prosopagnosia as “an apple with two worm holes, a folded over stem and a crease”
Top-Down Processing Pre-existing knowledge on our eventual perception of things in the world
Bottom-Up Processing The flow of information from the world into the perceptual system
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Gestalt Grouping Principles Gestalt theorists argued that our perceptual systems automatically organized sensory input based on certain rules Proximity Group nearby figures together; Objects near each other tend to be seen as a unit Similarity Group figures that are similar; Objects similar to each other tend to be seen as a unit Closure Fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object Continuity Objects that are connected by a smooth curve tend to be seen as a unit Connec
Perceived Size and Depth To perceive the size of objects accurately we must also perceive their distance accurately Many visual illusions occur simply because a particular image lacks sufficient depth cues
The Size-Distance Problem The Ames room is designed so that the depth cues give the illusion that the two people are equally far away We are able to see in 3-D because our visual system uses depth cues that appear in the retinal images
Binocular Depth Cues Depth cues that involve comparing the left and right eye images This difference between the image in the two eyes is know as Binocular Disparity
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Monocular Depth Cues Depth cues that appear in the image in either the left or right eye Allow us to see in 3-D with the view of only one eye, but our best depth perception occurs if we look through both eyes This is because our right and left eyes see a slightly different view of the world
Depth Cue: Relative Size Size-Distance Problem: If two objects are assumed to be the same size (e.g, the oars) but one appears bigger then it must be closer
Depth Cue: Linear Perspective Apparent convergence of parallel lines suggests distance
Depth Cue: Texture Gradients The elements of a texture become smaller and more densely packed together as they recede into the distance...another reliable depth cue
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Depth Cue: Relative Height Proximity to the horizon signals greater distance
Perceptual Constancy When viewing conditions change, the retinal image changes even if the objects being viewed remain constant Important function of the perceptual system is to represent constancy in our environment even when the retinal image varies
Size Constancy The two men are the same size even though their image sizes differ The depth cues such as linear perspective help the visual system judge the size accurately
Shape Constancy It is hard to tell if the figure on the upper right is a trapezoid or a square slanted backward If we add texture, the texture gradient helps us see that it is actually a square
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Color Constancy Color constancy is an example of subjective constancy and a feature of the human color perception system which ensures that the perceived color of objects remains relatively constant under varying illumination conditions.
Attention Some aspects of our perception are under our conscious attentive control Example: In a large crowd, we can concentrate on listening to some people and ignoring others
The Stroop Effect Some abilities which once required attention can become automatic through practice John Stroop found that the act of reading could interfere with your ability to perform simple perceptual distinctions like naming colors 4 Findings Word processing is faster than color naming Words interfere with color naming Colors do not interfere with word reading Interference is greater than facilitation in the color-naming conditions For adults, reading has become such an automatized process that i
Selectivity Only aware of a subset of stimuli--selective attention Ex. When you are in a crowded room, and you are attempting to follow a single conversation amidst lots of others Color is a primitive feature that we can select Color and line orientation are easy to pick out separately
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Capacity Limitations Limited ability to handle different tasks or stimuli at once
Feature Integration Theory Detecting features is relatively automatic, and that integrating multiple features together and identifying the objects is more attention-demanding (Treisman)
Conjunction Search All objects composed of primitive features jump out easily Integrating these features into perceptual wholes is slower Combination of features and spatial arrangements of features
Pre-attentive Processing Automatic registration of features – effortless and occurs in parallel
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Focused Attention Integration/processing of multiple features at once – effortful, conscious, occurs serially
Feature Detection Objects are easier to detect when they can be defined by a single feature
Feature Integration Objects are harder to detect when they are defined on the basis of a combination of basic visual features
Left Visual Neglect Inability or difficulty to attend to the left side of visual space or of an object. Caused by lesion in the right parietal lobe Balint's Syndrome: Cannot see two objects at the same time Some evidence suggest that they two hemispheres are in competition with each other
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Attending without moving eyes Focus of attention does NOT depend on where your eyes are pointing. We can move our attention independently of our eyes. You can look one way and attend to something that is elsewhere. Attention amplifies our ability to sense information
Attention as a "Selection Mechanism" When you are not attending to something, you become less likely to notice things
Dichotic Listening In cognitive psychology, dichotic listening is a procedure commonly used to investigate selective attention in the auditory system Do not notice the change in language, but can notice a change in pitch or disappearing of the message Attention is a gateway to memory
Control Processes Control movement of information within and between memory stores
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Sensory Memory Store Function - holds information long enough to be processed for basic physical characteristics Capacity - large Duration - very brief retention of images Decays rapidly .3 sec for visual info (iconic memory) 2 sec for auditory info (echoic memory)
Sperling's Experiment Flash matrix of letters for 1/20 of a second Report as many letters as possible Subjects recall only half of the letters
Iconic Memory Visual Information
Echoic Memory Auditory Information
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Working (Short) Memory Store Function - conscious processing of information Where information is actively worked on Attention is required to transfer information to the working memory Phonological Loop Central Executive Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
Phonological Loop Limited Capacity (only 7 plus or minus 2 chunks of information) Temporary, sound-based storage Must be attended to periodically and rehearsed in order to be preserved Preserves information for about 2 seconds unless it is refreshed
Phonological Similarity Effect Impaired serial recall when the items are similar in sound (e.g., BCDVTP is harder to remember than RKPOSL). Explanation: Phonological store is based on a phonological code and similar sounding items have a similar code. Similar codes leads to more interference
Word-Length Effect Welsh have very poor memory spans (i.e., how many items -- usually numbers -- that can be recalled in order) Different languages have different # of syllables per digit. Takes longer to say Welsh digits than English digits Therefore, recall accuracy of numbers should be different across languages
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Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad Analogous to the Phonological Loop, except for visual information Limited Capacity Must be attended to periodically and rehearsed in order to be preserved
Central Executive Attentional controller that selects and regulates the flow of information within Working Memory
Chunking A category of information that lets you group/organize underlying items Our short term memory capacity is 7 plus or minus 2 chunks of information
Long-Term Memory Long-term memory (LTM) is memory that can last as little as a few days or as long as decades. Encoding: Process that controls movement from working to long-term memory Retrieval: Process that controls flow of information from long-term memory to working memory
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Flashbulb Memory Happens during very high emotion, resulting memory is very complete, very accurate and is immune to forgetting (ALL claims) Proof that they are immune to forgetting and can be grossly inaccurate after time YET, they are different from everyday memories in terms of how confidently individuals believe in them
Amnesia Evidence for separate LTM and WM Amnesiacs show normal working memory Amnesiacs cannot form new conscious long term memories (cannot encode) Caused by damage to hippocampus and/or surrounding areas Procedural Memory: Intact in amnesia The Mirror-Drawing Task: Improves in how well they can draw Jigsaw Puzzles: Takes them normal time at first, but they improve over time Will NEVER remember doing the task
Encoding Failures Even though you’ve seen thousands of pennies you’ve probably never attended to one closely enough to encode all of its specific features Sheer repetition does NOT necessarily lead to good memory
Retrieval Failure Not all forgetting is due to encoding failures Sometimes info IS encoded into LTM, but we can’t retrieve it Retrieval failure theories Interference Retrieval cue problems
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Interference Forgetting is NOT caused by mere passage of time Caused by one memory competing with or replacing another memory
Retroactive Interference When a NEW memory interferes with remembering OLD information People are worse after describing the face because their memory for what they wrote interferes with their memory for what they initially saw. And, the verbal memory is usually a less accurate representation of the face than the visual memory.
Proactive Interference When an OLD memory interferes with memory for New information Example: When an old phone number interferes with your ability to remember a new phone number
Retrieval Cue Problems Retrieval cue - a clue, prompt or hint that can help memory retrieval Forgetting is the result of using improper or insufficient retrieval cues
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Context-Dependent Memory Improved ability to remember if tested in the same environment as the initial learning environment
Tip-of-the-Tongue State Marked by a temporary failure to retrieve information that one is sure exists in long-term memory and is on the verge of recovering
Memory Distortion What we remember is NOT an exact replica of what happened
Associative Memory Illusion Experiment: Subjects study lists of 15 related words, all associates of a single word that is not presented. Remembering is a constructive activity and subject to illusions. This procedure reveals a striking memory illusion in which people recall, recognize and “remember” words that were never presented.
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The Power of Suggestion Basic element of our legal system but it is flawed An eyewitness is the only major piece of evidence in ~80,000 cases each year Mistaken eyewitness is the #1 cause of false convictions
Loftus Experiment Experiment: After witnessing an accident, subjects were asked how fast the cars were going when they "smashed" into each other or "hit" each other 1 week later, 34% in "smashed" remember broken glass 14.5% in "hit" remember broken glass There was NO broken glass at all
Inaccurate Memories Inaccurate memories can occur when people confuse what they only imagined or described with what they saw. Can cause inaccurate eye-witness testimony Children are especially vulnerable to giving inaccurate testimony (e.g., Bruck video)
Recovered Memory Debate Is it possible to have something traumatic happen to you and for you to forget it for an extended period of time, and to recover it many years later? Reasons to Doubt Trauma is memorable Extended delay makes accurate retrieval implausible Reasons to believe it There may be functional reasons to forget May be functionally important for the child to forget (repress) memory of abuse by a parent
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Active Forgetting Think/No-Think paradigm provides one of the few pieces of evidence for the existence of a repression-like forgetting process. Of course, these were only word pairs. The next step is to see if this effect generalizes to more emotional events.
Universals of Language Referential: Refers to and describes specific things and events in the world (ex. Platypus, Frodo) Interpersonal: Allows conversation with another Structured: Grammar, or set of rules (syntactic principles) Dynamic: New words and phrases are constantly appearing
Phoneme The smallest distinctive sound unit, usually corresponding to the letters of the alphabet (e.g., t, d, th, a, ee)
Morpheme The smallest meaningful piece of language, usually a word or a part of word (e.g., prefix)
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The Segmentation Problem Acoustic Ambiguity: Different places speak differently or words can be heard in different ways Well -- in Texas sounds like "whale" Phonemes are often hard to extract from the sound stream. Need to know or guess the word to extract the phonemes. Need the meaning of the sentence to understand the words.
Oronyms Strings of sound that can be carved into words in two different ways The stuffy nose can lead to problems OR The stuff he knows can lead to problems
Problems Extracting Meaning Ambiguity "Drop your trousers here for best results" "Jane Fonda to teens: Use head to avoid pregnancy"
Functional Fixedness/ Mental Set Tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions Bad problem-solving techniques Ex. Candle attached to bulletin board problem Ex. Without lifting pen, draw 4 straight lines and connect all 9 dots
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Confirmation Bias Tendency for people to confirm their preconceptions or hypotheses, rather than falsify Verify Rule: If there is a vowel on one side, there is an even number on the other side.
Conjunction Fallacy Logical fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that specific conditions are more probable than a single general one Ex. Probability that Linda is a bank teller and a feminist cannot be greater than the probability that Linda is a bank teller
Representative Heuristic Rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes
Availability Heuristic People predict the frequency of an event, or a proportion within a population, based on how easily an example can be brought to mind - Within the Availability Bias Ex. Are there more 4-letter words with R in the 3rd or first place? We think 1st place only because we can think of the answers quicker, but in fact there are more with R in the 3rd place
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Availability Bias People predict the frequency of an event, or a proportion within a population, based on how easily an example can be brought to mind Ex. Which is the leading cause of death? Homicide or diabetes? - Diabetes Lighting or appendicitis? - Appendicitis *We judge based on what the media implies
Gambler's Fallacy Fallacious inference that a sequence of independent events makes future events more or less likely
Prospect Theory People tend to be risk seeking with losses and risk averse with gains Saving lives = Gain Frame = Risk-Averse Killing lives = Loss Frame = Risk-seeking
Motivational State or Drive An internal condition, which can change over time, that orients an individual to a specific set of goals (e.g., hunger, thirst)
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Homeostasis The tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state Process by which bodily functions are regulated to maintain a steady state An upset in homeostasis leads to induced behavior to correct imbalance
Regulatory Drive Primary biological drives that result in death, if ignored (e.g., hunger, thirst, oxygen, sleep, temperature control)
Nonregulatory Drive Drives to satisfy needs that are not life-threatening (e.g., sex), but may contribute to emotional and/or biological well-being, such as attachment
Hypothalamus Regulates many drive systems: hunger, thirst, sleep, body temperature Lateral and Ventromedial areas play a central role in hunger drive Stimulation will increase the hunger drive Destruction will reduce the hunger drive
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Ventromedial Area Stimulation depresses hunger Destruction causes obesity Food is converted into fat rather than energy molecules, causing the animal to eat much more than normal
Lateral Area Stimulation increases hunger Destruction will reduce the hunger drive
Nonregulatory Drive: Sex Sex is a physiologically based motive, like hunger, but, unlike hunger, the lack of sex does not cause death A consistent finding is that men generally have a higher level of sexual motivation than do women Buss study: Proving that men have stronger sex drive than women
Regulatory Drive: Sleep Different animals sleep for different periods of time Sleep deprivation leads to death
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Measuring Sleep Activity Electrodes placed on the scalp provide a gross record of the electrical activity of the brain EEG recordings are a rough index of psychological states
Alpha Waves Electrical activity of a relaxed brain Drowsy, non-attentive
Sleep Stage 1 Brief transition stage when first falling asleep Theta waves
Sleep Stages 2-4 Successively deeper stages of sleep that are characterized by an increasing percentage of irregular, high-amplitude Delta Waves
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Sleep Stage 4 Biggest and slowest brain waves Takes the most stimulation to awaken someone Upon reaching this stage, sleep lightens and returns through stages 3 and 2
Non-REM Sleep Characterized by an active brain and a moveable body Divided into 4 stages based on the size and speed of the brain waves generated by the sleeper Four or five sleep cycles occur in a typical night's sleep Progressively less time is spent in the deepest stage of sleep, more is spent in REM
REM (Dreaming) Sleep Characterized by an active brain but a relaxed and paralyzed body
Deep Sleep More occurs after strenuous physical activity, such as running a marathon Thought to be the most restorative stage of sleep
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Function of Sleep Creativity is effected by sleep Those who slept with REM were more likely to solve problems Those who slept with no REM and those with no sleep performed worse Stimulation of Medial preoptic area causes an animal to fall asleep
Sleep Deprivation Effects: Death impaired immune system Irritability Slowed performance Accidents - Less sleep, more accidents when time changed in the spring to lose an hour of sleep
Emotions A class of subjective feelings elicited by stimuli that have high significance to an individual Stimuli that produce high arousal generally produce strong feelings Can be rapid and automatic
Emotional Forecasting Asks how accurate we are at predicting future emotional states and how long an emotion will last Ex. People think they will feel horrible 2 months after a break up People ACTUALLY feel better 2 months after a break up
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Impact Bias The tendency to overestimate the duration of the emotional consequences of an event Underestimate the power of our emotional setpoint Good at predicting valence and intensity of emotional reactions Bad at predicting how LONG these emotional reactions will last
Adaptation-Level Principle Adapt to a current situation so that it becomes normal or the “neutral level.” Changes from this neutral level produce an emotional response.
Huntington's Disease People with the disease become really depressed but eventually level out with feelings People without the disease become very happy but level out the same as the people who have the disease Diminishing around 6-12 months
Common-Sense Theory of Emotion Common sense suggests that the perception of a stimulus elicits the emotion which then causes bodily arousal [Shark sighting --> Fear --> Pounding heart (arousal)] Problem: We sometimes react physically before (or simultaneously as) we’re aware of what we’re feeling
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James-Lange Theory of Emotion Perception of a stimulus causes bodily arousal which leads to emotion [Shark sighting --> Pounding heart (arousal) --> Fear] Events lead to physical changes Emotions are the result of awareness of those changes
Schachter-Singer Two Factory Theory Interaction of Inference and Arousal Inference influences KIND of emotion (Shark sighting --> Inference ("Danger") --> Fear] Degree of arousal influences the INTENSITY (Shark sighting --> Pounding heart (arousal) --> Fear]
Misattribution of Emotion Men who walked across a narrow, scary bridge showed more attraction to a female experimenter than did men who walked across a stable bridge
Ekman's Facial Feedback Theory Each basic emotion is associated with a unique facial expression Sensory feedback from the expression contributes to the emotional feeling Facial expressions have an effect on self-reported happiness and anger Facial expressions can produce effects on the rest of the body Heart beating faster = anger, fear, sadness Temperature increase = anger
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Amygdala Brain's shortcut (the fast pathway) for emotions
Emotion and the Brain Stimulus > Perception > Fast Route = Amygdala Slow Route = Frontal Lobes Emotion
Frontal Lobes Influence people's conscious emotional feelings and ability to act in planned ways based on feelings (e.g., effects of frontal lobotomy) Left frontal lobe = Positive emotions Right frontal lobe = Negative emotions Frontal lobotomy can leave emotions flat so that there is little variation in the person’s emotions People with frontal damage show much less of a response to gruesome scenes than do healthy subjects
Brain Hemispheres and Emotion Right hemisphere is critical for evaluating other people’s emotions. This hemisphere receives input from the left half of the visual world. Left half of these images carry more weight in judgment of emotion
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Genetics and Emotion Emotional expression appears very early in life More support for the genetic basis of emotions: Humans and other primates, especially chimpanzees, seem to share similar facial expressions Strongest evidence for a genetic component to emotions comes from children who are born blind - Never seen a face, yet have the same emotions Hard-wired and genetically apparent in all of us Common facial expressions all over the world
Culture and Emotion Display rules vary by culture We hide sadness and emphasize putting on a happy face Many cultures hide anger, don’t permit its display Some asian cultures emphasize not showing emotions in public. But, this does not mean they feel differently. When a Japanese person noticed that someone was watching them, they were more restrained in their expression
Honest Display Theory Emotions are cues that facilitate our ability to interact with others See another’s expression, read their emotion, and predict their behavior Way of making honest exchanges between people
"Gut-Feeling" Theory Decisions are based on our gut feelings Emotions help us make decisions Use imagined emotional responses for guidance Easier than rationally summing up the pros and cons of each choice Ex. Go home for the weekend and help parents or go to a concert with friends
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Intelligence Capacity for goal-directed and adaptive behavior Involves certain abilities Profit from experience Solve problems Reason effectively Intelligence has been described at three levels of analysis: As consisting of one thing (e.g., Spearman) As consisting of a few things (e.g., Cattell) As consisting of many things (e.g., Gardner)
Intelligence as a Single Trait Is intelligence a single entity that influences all aspects of cognitive functioning? One hypothesis holds that each of us possesses a certain amount of g, or general intelligence, that influences our ability on all intellectual tasks.
Intelligence as a Few Basic Abilities Two types: Crystallized and Fluid Intelligence Factors of general intelligence
Crystallized Intelligence Amount of information that is known (e.g., factual knowledge about the world, word meanings, arithmetic, etc) Mental ability derived from previous experience (e.g., word meanings, use of tools, cultural practices) Defining words, identifying people and what they do Intelligence peaks around 50 years old
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Fluid Intelligence The ability to process information, such as the ability to think on the spot by drawing inferences and understanding relations between concepts not previously encountered Less by culture, more basic, on the spot knowledge and not dependent on pervious experiences Matrices test - can complete even if you haven't seen one before Intelligence peaks ~ 20-25 years old then declines
Multiple Intelligences Howard Gardner, 1980's: 1 Linguistic 2 Logical-mathematical 3 Spatial 4 Musical 5 Bodily-Kinesthetic 6 Intra-personal (self-understanding) 7 Inter-personal (social skills)
Savant Syndrome Condition in which a person, otherwise limited in mental ability, has an amazing specific skill Ex. Wilshire - Very artistic but subnormal in understanding skills (comparing similar words) Ex. George and Charles - Can compute the dates from over 80,000 years ago but have IQ's between 40-70
Alfred Binet Goal: To identify children who needed special help Binet’s notion of Mental Age chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8
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The Stanford-Binet Scale intelligence quotient (IQ) = child’s mental age divided by child’s chronological age and then multiplied by 100 IQ = MA/CA x 100 (CA = Chronological age) E.g., IQ = 13/10 x 100 = 130 The IQ is absurd when applied to adults Drawback: IQ in military as instrument for leaders or for immigration since it was used to screen people coming in to the USA Not accurate when judging real like intelligence
The Wechsler Tests Most widely used intelligence tests today Two main subtests Verbal Performance (nonverbal) Normal Curve: 68% of people score within 15 points of 100 and 95% score within 30 points of 100 Identifies strengths as well as weaknesses Every few years it is updated because people's scores keep increasing
Relatedness The probability that another person shares another gene with you We all have 99.9% of our genes in common so this concept of relatedness only tells us about genes that can vary from person to person (i.e., that .1%) That .1% difference has to carry all of the differences from one person to another Identical Twins - 100% relatedness Parent/Child, siblings, fraternal twins - 50% relatedness
Heritability Degree to which variation in a characteristic stems from genetic differences among individuals (height, etc.) As they get older, intelligence changes - Cognitive score is better in identical twins Genetic and non-shared environment are most and shared environment has less effect on twins
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h^2 = Heritability Coefficient A number that estimates the degree to which differences in a characteristic from one person to another are caused by genetic differences h2 = Vgenetic (Vgenetic + Venvironment) Single number 0 - 1.0 0 means no variance (differences from one person to another due to genetics) 1 means all variance due to genetics .3 means 30% due to genetic differences, 70% due to environmental differences
Behavioral Genetics An area of psychology concerned with how variation in behavior and development results from the combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Adoption/Twin Studies Usual parent-child IQ correlation: r = .35 Adopted child and BIRTH mother: r = .31 Adopted child and adoptive mother: r = .19 Heredity is a slightly better predictor of a child’s IQ than is family environment Fraternal Twins’ IQ correlation: r = .60 Identical Twins’ IQ correlation: r = .86 Identical Twins raised apart: r = .78 Genes matter
Flynn Effect The average IQ score has risen continuously over the past 80 years Improved performance on IQ tests over the years Big increases in tests assessing fluid intelligence, smallest in factual knowledge
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Gender Differences in IQ Women and men have almost the same IQ scores Some evidence suggests that women have an advantage with linguistic tasks and men have an advantage with spatial tasks
Expertise Refers to the mechanisms underlying the superior achievement of an expert, i.e. one who has acquired special skill in or knowledge of a particular subject through professional training and practical experience Ex. Chess pieces, memorizing numbers Practice makes one perfect and more knowledgeable in whichever specific area they study
Reflexes Genetically coded responses to events
Learning The ability to acquire new responses or to optimize or alter existing reflexes
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Classical Conditioning Pavlov's famous experiment with dogs Respond to stimulus and begin to drool even before food is presented Stimulus precedes the response and elicits it
Neural Stimulus Does not normally elicit a response or reflex action by itself A bell ringing A color A furry object
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) Always elicits a reflex action: an unconditioned response Food Blast of air Noise Seeing a tiger
Unconditioned Response (UCR) A response to an unconditioned stimulus -- naturally occurring Salivation at the smell of food Eye blink at blast of air Startle reaction in babies
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Conditioned Stimulus (CS) The stimulus that was originally neutral becomes conditioned after it has been paired with the unconditioned stimulus Will eventually elicit the unconditioned response by itself Metronome, food, metronome, foot, etc.
Conditioned Response (CR) The original unconditioned response becomes associated with and is triggered by the conditioned stimulus Response triggered by metronome
Extinction Repeatedly presenting the CS (e.g., bell or Jaws Music) without the UCS (food or Shark) diminishes the CR (salivation or Fear) Without a response, the stimulus means nothing Dog hears bell and food never comes, eventually they will stop drooling
Spontaneous Recovery After passage of time the partial return of a CR that had been extinguished Slow extinction of food (only ring bell); but experiences spontaneous recovery after two hours and will drool again
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Generalization CR gets triggered by things that resemble the CS Little Albert was trained to cry at the sight of a white rat - soon adopted to cry when he saw bunnies and Santa Claus
Biological Preparedness Propensity to learn some kind of associations over others Saccharine taste + light + sound experiment with rats
Operant Conditioning The role of reinforcement and punishment in shaping behavior The process by which a behavior becomes associated with its consequence Stimulus follows the response and strengthens it (Skinner)
Thorndike and the Puzzle Box The law of effect is essentially any behavior that leads to a satisfying state of affairs is more likely to occur again Any behavior that leads to a more negative state of affairs is less likely to occur again Studies hungry cats - placed in a box and timed how long it took for them to get out After many trials, it took less and less time to figure out how to get out of the box
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Thorndike's Law of Effect Positive outcomes (e.g., rewards) increase the frequency of a response Negative outcomes (e.g., punishment) decrease the frequency of a response. The tendency to perform a given response is strengthened or weakened by the effect that the response brings about.
B.F. Skinner Thought that the things you couldn't observe (memory) shouldn't be part of the theory Wanted to focus on observable behavior The way we are and behavior is all a product of how we have been raised and punished before The Skinner Box Similar to Thorndike's puzzle Animal acts one way and receives a reward for their behavior (ex. pecking on a lever)
Shaping Reward behaviors that increasingly resemble desired behavior Skinner -- Play ping-pong with pigeon
Reinforcement Schedule Interval (time): You get paid for every time the boss walks by and sees you working [fixed]/ The boss might not come by at a fixed interval, instead randomly, but when he sees you working, you get paid [variable] Ex. Look at watch during lecture until the end of the lecture = Fixed interval Ratio (action): You get paid for every 5 widgets you make [fixed]/ You don't know how many widgets you have to make in order to get paid [variable] Ex. Frequent Flyer Program = Fixed ratio
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Variable Reinforcement Effect Variably reinforced behaviors resist extinction Fixed Reinforcement – Quick learning; Quick extinction (Cleaning your room and getting paid) Variable Reinforcement – Slower learning; Slower extinction (Gambling)
Reinforcement and Punishment Positive Reinforcement: Increases response rate and response causes a stimulus to be presented M&M's or money Negative Reinforcement: Increases response rate and response causes a stimulus to be removed Excused from chores or lab quiz Positive Punishment: Decreases response rate and response causes a stimulus to be presented Shock or frequent mocking Negative Punishment: Decreases response rate and response causes a stimulus to be removed No TV privileges or removal of class slides fro
Superstitious Behavior People often have rituals that they go through before a plane takes off the ground as a way to prevent it from crashing Skinner argues that these rituals occur because people have been reinforced to do this
Radical Behaviorism All behavior is a result of its reinforcement history John Watson argued that the observable behavior is the only valid indicator of psychological activity. Behavior determined by the environment
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Observational Learning Watching others affects learning Animals and children learn what is safe to eat, what to fear, and how to behave by watching parents and other role models Bobo Doll Study Study of aggression Aggressive actions of adults were present in children when put around the doll Gentle actions of adults shown in the non-aggressive behavior of children No influence of adult showed mild aggression
Developmental Psychology A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive and social change throughout the life span
Developing Person As our bodies develop, we have basically all of the same parts; of course they change in size as we get older The brain is not like the rest of the body. It does not begin as a “little adult brain” that merely needs to grow in size We start with a brain that is fundamentally different from how it will be later in life. We start with a brain that is actually “missingâ€
Brain Maturity Brain maturity sets limits on psychological ability Visual system is not fully functional at birth Language system is not functional until much later An infant’s abilities are linked to her state of brain development
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Brain Development Develops from back to front Brain stem and spinal cord are nearly fully organized and myelinated at birth Midbrain and cerebellum begin myelinating just after birth Last of all, the cerebral cortex matures (frontal lobe is not finished until the late teens)
"Wiring up" of the Brain Develop connections between different neurons Technically referred to as “Synaptogenesis”; process of forming synapses with other neurons New born's brain can compensate for brain damage since there are not many wired up parts
Babinski Reflex Fanning and curling toes when foot is stroked
Moro Reflex Throwing the arms out, arching the back and bringing the arms together as if to hold onto something (in response to loud noise or sudden change in position of the head)
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Grasping Reflex Can grasp onto things
Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist who became a leading theorist in the 1930's Father of developmental psychology
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development All mental growth involves major qualitative changes as the child passes through several mental stages Does NOT believe in continuous change -- Believes in a step-like process of development Believed there were 4 developmental stages that differ in terms of how the world is understood Criticism: Infants and young children are more competent than recognized Underestimates children's abilities Development seems more like continuous than stage-like
Sensorimotor Stage Birth - 2 years old *Information gained through senses and motor actions *Child perceives and manipulates but does not reason *Object permanence is acquired at around 6 months Object Permanence: The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived; For young babies (typically under 6 months), when an object is no longer visible it ceases to exist
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Preoperational Stage 2 - 7 years old *Begin to represent world with language, mental imagery, and symbolic thought *Lack of concept of conservation The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms/shapes of objects Ex. liquid poured into different sized container * Egocentrism: Unable to take another's point of view
Concrete Operational Stage 7 - 12 years old *Less egocentric *Understand laws of conservation *Inability to reason abstractly or hypothetically Can use logic, but only when referring to concrete things
Formal Operational Stage 12 years old - adulthood *Acquires logical reasoning. Children can think deeply about concrete events and can reason abstractly and hypothetically
Habituation Method Newborns become bored with a repeated stimulus, but renew their attention to a slightly different stimulus Procedure: Keep presenting the first object until the infant’s looking time drops Now present a new object If the difference is salient to the infant then looking time will increase
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Possible vs. Impossible Events Object-Permanence reconsidered: 3 month olds appear to understand object constancy. This is the basis for their surprise in the video Infants seem to understand the concept of gravity, knowing by 3 months that unsupported objects will fall and will not be suspended in space.
Theory of Mind People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states- about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict Ex. The child’s preferential looking at one bar or the other was influenced by the woman’s eye gaze. Indicates that the child understands that another’s eye gaze is informative.
"False-Belief Problem" Test a child's understanding that other people's beliefs are different from their own Understanding the distinction between your self and everyone else Includes awareness that what you know isn’t necessarily what others will know Includes knowing that what you think is not necessarily public knowledge
Language Development Before 6 months we can hear phonemic differences that are used in all languages After 6 months we begin to hear only differences that are used in our native language We are born with the ability to recognize phonemes from all of the world’s languages. However, this ability quickly disappears.
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Babbling Stage Biologically controlled part of acquiring language Beginning at 3 to 4 months The stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language Babbling is an attempt to learn phonemes, not to get an object Deaf children also babble in terms of partial signs
One-Word Stage From about age 1 to 2 The stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words to reach a goal/ obtain an object
Two-Word Stage Begins at age 2 The stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements Learn 8 new words a day
Language Acquisition Stages must go through in a certain order and mature along with the growth of their brain
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Explaining Language Development Empiricism: All human thought and knowledge are acquired from sensory experience Due to learning principles, such as reinforcement Nativism: The idea that certain elementary ideas are innate to the human mind and do not need to be learned Innate language-learning mechanism Just as we become attuned to our language's phonemic structure, an analogous mechanism makes us attuned to our language's grammar
The Wug Test Jean Gleason created a test to determine whether children can apply the rules of grammar to unknown words Children must infer grammatical rules, such as adding an "s" to make a plural, form listening to language Supports Chomsky's nothing that we are genetically predisposed to learn grammar
Overgeneralization Inappropriately adding "-ed" to make a past tense E.g., saying “goed,” “thinked,” and “swimmed.” Indicates that the child knows the rule about adding -ed to the end of a verb to create a past tense.
Critical Period An optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development New language learning gets harder with age (age 8 onward) Ex. Genie spent her first 14 years confined to a small bedroom and weighed just 59 pounds when discovered. She never learned to speak in complete sentences.
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Social Development The changing nature of relationships with others over the life span
Attachment Evolution appears to have built an attachment system into children to drift towards their parents
Imprinting The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life Genetically predisposed to attach to our parents
Harlow's Study of Attachment Infant rhesus monkeys were placed with two surrogate mothers, one made of wire and one covered with soft cloth Milk-producing nipple was attached to the wire-mesh mother Monkeys preferred contact with the comfortable cloth mother, even while feeding from the nourishing wire mother
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Bowlby's Theory of Attachment Young mammals have competing needs for safety exploration Child will explore when it has a secure home base
Ainsworth's Study of Attachment Mother-child interactions were observed in a playroom Three different attachment styles: Secure: Explores when mom is present; upset when she’s absent; seeks comfort at reunions (70%) Anxious: Constant anxiety; clings to mom and does not explore much (10%) Avoidant: Avoids mom/acts coldly to her throughout (20%) A child’s attachment style appears to result from the interaction of the quality of the parenting and the childÃÂÂ
Long-Term Effects of Attachment Securely attached children: Tend to express emotions in an appropriate way. Close relationships with peers Insecurely attached children: Tend to inhibit emotional expressiveness and not to seek comfort from other people
Social Psychology Examines the influence of social processes on the way people think, feel, and behave
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Foot-in-the-Door Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small, trivial request to comply later with a larger request [Consistency-based persuasion]
Door-in-the-Face Achieve compliance by first making an outlandish request which is followed by a reasonable (and the desired) request (e.g., can you give $1000? Well, how about $10) Hinges on the assumption of reciprocity [Reciprocity-based persuasion]
That's Not All Request (or offer) occurs in incremental pieces under the illusion of making a concession so as to increase compliance If you put everything out on the table, people respond less therefore you should present in small amounts [Reciprocity-based persuasion]
Pique Technique Frame request in an unusual way to increase compliance by piquing interest. Designed to combat mindless/knee-jerk/automatic behavior Want to jolt people out of their automatic way of behavior Ex. When beggars ask for a random, unusual amount of change, they usually get it because people pay attention [Script/Norm-based persuasion]
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Correspondence Bias/ Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE) Tendency to overestimate dispositions (personality) as causes of behavior and underestimate situational influences Bias is dominant When we are explaining other people's behavior, we are biased to base off of their dispositions Ex. Anti/Pro-Castro essays Basic point: we rush to attribute actions to personality factors & don’t give situational forces the weight we should
Actor-Observer Bias When evaluating someone else’s behavior we focus on his/her personality When evaluating our own behavior we focus on the situation We know our behavior changes from situation to situation, but we don’t know this about others
Self-Serving Attributional Bias Our successes are due to our dispositions but our failures are due to our situation We take credit for success but blame external causes for failures
False Consensus Effect Tendency to see one’s own choices and opinions as more common than they are People think that the majority of other people will behave in the same way that they do
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Self-Esteem Maintenance It makes us feel better to think that we are part of the majority
Accessibility The reasons for our construal of the event more readily come to mind. Alternative ways of construing the event are not as easily accessible
Attitudes Predisposition to feel a certain way toward some people, group, or objects Can be negative or positive The media greatly influences us
Cognitive Dissonance A discrepancy between an attitude/belief and our behavior leads to tension Something must be changed to resolve the tension Situation --> Behavior --> Attitude Ex. Judgement Task Experiment Lied and told next subject that the experiment was fun; paid $20 or $1; those who were paid $1 actually claim to have had fun (compensate) Suggests that the more someone has to suffer to achieve something the more positive their attitude towards it will be
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The Forbidden Toy Study Children told not to play with attractive toy under threat of either mild or severe punishment. Then, the experimenter left the child alone No child played with the toy Child in mild threat condition rated the toy as less attractive than those in the severe threat condition
Stereotypes A schema about the personal attributes of a group of people Ex. Blue/Brown Eyed people Blue eyed children believed they were superior to Brown eyed children and turned into tyrants almost immediately
Explicit Stereotype What we consciously think about a group
Implicit Stereotype Unconscious mental associations guiding our judgments and actions without our conscious awareness Direct measures of certain phenomena are often biased Powerful prejudices that appear to be a product of our culture Despite our conscious desires and beliefs to the contrary, we may still automatically respond in a way that reflects an underlying prejudice
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Devine's Automaticity Theory Stereotypes about groups of people, such as those based on gender, age, or race, are so prevalent in our culture that we all hold them to some extent These stereotypes are automatically activated whenever we come into contact with someone from that group Controlled processes are required to counteract the influence of these automatically activated stereotypes
Priming Preconceptions we have about social groups (i.e. stereotypes) get activated very quickly We can detect the activation of these implicit associations by the degree to which we are primed to process words related to the stereotypical concepts. Exposed students to words related to growing old - when subjects left lab they walked more slowly
Implicit Association Test (IAT) Designed to measure implicit associations IAT measures relative strength of association between pairs of concepts E.g., Girl/female vs. Grandmother/male E.g, Test unpleasant, young, pleasant, and old faces Both old and young participants favored young Mechanism: congruent pairs of items share the same response therefore will show faster response
Deindividuation When someone is less accountable for their actions Sense of reduced accountability and shifted attention away from the self that occurs in groups Deindividuation and anonymity produces intimacy possibly because of fewer inhibitions Experiment: Halloween study Children took more candy when in a group and when they were anonymous
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Diffusion of Responsibility Presence of others leads to decreased help from others We all think someone else will help, so we don’t The greater the number of people who could potentially intervene, the less likely a victim was to be helpedâ€Ãƒƒ‚¦and the longer it took to get help
Bystander Nonintervention Noticing: You can't help if you don't notice the problem (Sometimes used as an excuse) Interpreting: Knowing that an ambiguous event requires intervention (Sunbathing or seriously ill?) Pluralistic Ignorance: Other people's lack of a reaction is a cue that nothing is wrong (Run when others run) Overcoming Diffusion of Responsibility: Singling out an individual (When someone you know is hurt, you react faster)
New York Subway Study Collapse on a subway car - 95% get immediate help Common Fate: People riding together on a subway car (group working together) No Escape: The problem is right in front of you and it is not easy to ignore
Conformity A change in behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people Other people can provide useful and crucial information
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Normative Social Influence Desire to be accepted as part of a group leads to that group having an influence Asch's Experiment: Proved that even though a result could appear completely wrong to the subject, if confederates chose an answer incorrectly, they would also choose it (75%) If one person disagrees, even if they give the wrong answer, you are more likely to express your nonconforming view
Obedience to Authority Personality view: There are evil people in the world, maybe even evil groups of people, such as the Nazis in World War II More frightening possibility: Maybe everyone—you, me, our loved ones—has the capacity to act in evil ways, if subjected to certain kinds of social influences
Stanley Milgram His Obedience studies are some of the most important and most famous experiments in the history of psychology Shock Experiment Instructed subject to deliver increasing levels of shock to a learner who gives incorrect answers on test No shock was actually given but subjects did not know this Researchers expected 2% would go to the full shock labeled "XXX", but 65% actually went to the end
Personality An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and interacting with the world Stable properties that make your behavior predictable to others
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Sensation-Seeking Personalities Need varied and novel experiences Willing to take physical and social risks for these experiences
Freud's Psychodynamic Approach Provides both an approach to therapy and a theory of personality Emphasizes unconscious motivation - the main causes of behavior lie buried in the unconscious mind Mind is like an iceberg and most of it is hidden from view Focuses on unconscious motives and defenses against anxiety (wants to explain personality)
Conscious In awareness now Rational Goal-directed thoughts
Unconscious A reservoir of unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories The ugly contents of the unconscious are kept this way by repression
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Id Strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives Operates according to the pleasure principle Find pleasure and avoid pain at whatever cost Think of a screaming, spoiled child that never shuts up.
Superego Internalization of society's moral standards for what we should be doing Responsible for guilt Purpose is to oppose the Id
Ego Mediator between id and superego Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain Think of a skilled baby-sitter doing his/her best to keep the screaming child (i.e., the Id) happy
Defense Mechanisms Unconscious mental processes employed by the ego to reduce anxiety In other words, we strive to reduce anxiety by defending ourselves from certain kinds of knowledge Five Kinds Repression, Displacement, Sublimation, Projection, Rationalization Occasional use of these is normal/ Neurotics are people with excessive unconscious conflict who use these mechanisms too much
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Repression Suppresses anxiety-producing thoughts from consciousness
Displacement Shifts unacceptable impulses toward a less threatening object or person (e.g., after striking out, a baseball player may kick the water cooler)
Sublimation Unacceptable urges are channeled into socially acceptable activities
Projection Project your own unacceptable urges onto others A person who insists that everyone else is selfish
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Rationalization Fabricate justifications to make it acceptable
Trait Theories Describe basic personality characteristics that are relatively stable over time and across situations Personality is especially stable after age 30 Traits are independent of each other Does not explain personality, but rather describes it central elements
The Big Five Trait Theory [OCEAN] Agreeableness - Antagonism Agreableness related to longevity, community involvement and negatively related to criminality Extroversion - Introversion Extroversion related to physical health Conscientious - Undirected Conscientiousness related to health-protective behavior Neuroticism - Stability Neuroticism related to criminality and morbidity. Openness - Nonopenness Openness related to creative/intellectual profession
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests Developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)
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Social-Cognitive Perspective Focus on differences in learned beliefs or thoughts that predispose people to react in particular ways Personality is formed by interaction of cognitions and environments Focuses on particular beliefs, such as perceived locus of control (explain personality)
Reciprocal Determinism The interacting influences between personality and environmental factors
External Locus of Control The perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate
Internal Locus of Control The perception that one controls one’s own fate
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Birth Order and Personality First Borns: More responsible, ambitious, organized, disciplined, tempermental, anxious about status, assertive, dominant Later Borns: More easy-going, trusting, accommodating, adventurous, prone to fantasy, untraditional, social, affectionate, excitement-seeking, self-conscious
Sibling Contrast Differences between siblings growing up in the same family may become exaggerated because siblings tend to define themselves as different from one another and to accentuate differences through behavioral choices
Split-Parent Identification In 2 parent homes, kids often are split as to who identifies more with which parent
General Adaptation Syndrome Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress as composed of three stages 1. Alarm Reaction - Body reacts to stress 2. Resistance - Balance is temporarily re-attained 3. Exhaustion - Resources are depleted leading to illness or death
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Type A Personality Need for activity, seeks high pressure environments, has trouble relaxing Twice as likely to develop heart problems as Type BStree
Type B Personality No need for activity, seeks low pressure environment, takes time to unwind
Stress and Heart Disease Prolonged stress increases blood pressure and cholesterol levels - the two most important risk factors for heart disease Type A personalities are especially vulnerable to feeling stressed and its effects
The Medical Student's Disease The overwhelming tendency to relate personally to, and find in oneself, the symptoms of any disease or disorder described in a textbook or lecture.
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Abnormal Behavior According to the DSM-IV: a mental disorder is one that fulfills the following criteria: Distress and impairment of functioning Involuntary Internal source
Medical Perspective on Mental Disorders Mental disorders as physical diseases Multiple causes: brain abnormalities, birth difficulties, heredity Important step in validating pathology as real illness and lifting it from suspicion of demonic possession and similar “lay” theories
Biopsychosocial Perspective on Mental Disorders Mental disorders are caused by an interaction of biological, psychological, & social factors
Anxiety Disorders Anxiety and Fear are normal Dysfunctional when: Pervasive, persistent Significant distress Irrational & uncontrollable
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Excessive uncontrollable worry about life events Strong, persistent anxiety Persists for 6 months or more Interferes with normal functioning 4% of general population; Females outnumber males approximately 2:1
Panic Disorder Abrupt experience of intense fear or discomfort Accompanying physical reactions to the fear Worry about another attack Symptoms persist for at least 1 month 3.5% of general population; 2/3 with panic disorder are female
Specific Phobias Extreme and irrational fear of specific object/situation that is out of proportion to the danger posed by the object Phobic object can cause a full-blown panic attack -- dizziness, difficulty breathing Interferes with one's ability to function Causes: Biological vulnerability (hereditary preparedness), past experience (e.g., conditioning) 5-8% of population (equal for both sexes)
Subtypes of Specific Phobia Blood-injury-injection Situational– Transportation, enclosed places (e.g., planes) Natural environment– Events occurring in nature (e.g., heights) Animal– Animals and insects Other phobias – e.g., fear of choking
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Social Phobia Defining Features Fear/shyness in social situations Interferes with functioning Avoids social situations 13% of population
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Obsessions - recurrent, persistent, and disturbing thoughts, images or urges that intrude into consciousness. The person recognizes that these ideas are irrational Obsessions and Compulsions vary in severity Compulsions - repetitive actions performed to suppress thoughts and provide relief. 1 - 3 % of population
Mood Disorders Depression & Bipolar Disorder Distressing and debilitating
Major Depressive Disorder Extremely depressed mood state lasting at least 2 weeks Symptoms (5 or more, including #1 and #2 within a 2 week period) Sad, depressed mood Loss of interest or pleasure in all activities Appetite and weight change Difficulties sleeping Loss of energy, great fatigue Feelings of worthlessness, negative self-concept Difficulties concentrating Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide Dissipates over time - Returns to normal in 6-8 months
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Dysthymia Less severe than MDD, but long-lasting depression Lasts for at least 2 years
Bipolar Disorder Mood alternates from severe depression to extreme euphoria (mania) Manics experience: elevated mood, increased activity, diminished need for sleep, grandiose ideas, extreme distractibility. Average age of onset is 18. Between .6 and 1.1% of population will have a bipolar disorder
Causes of Mental Disorders Biological (e.g., heritability) Situational (e.g., stress) Cognitive (e.g., thought patterns)
Biological Cause Mood disorders among twins More likely to have a form of depression if your identical twin has it Etiology: Multiple influences (bipolar appears to have a strong genetic component, depression has biological influences but much less)
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Situational Cause Strongly related to mood disorders Positive correlation between stressful life events and onset of depression Most depressogenic life events are losses Spouse or companion Long-term job Health Income
Cognitive Cause Aaron Beck: depressed people hold pessimistic views of Themselves The world The future Beck argues that depression is a thought disorder, instead of a mood disorder. Depressed people distort their experiences in negative ways Exaggerate bad experiences Minimize good experiences
Dissociative Disorders Literally a dis-association from yourself or your memory A complete repression of anxiety-provoking materials from consciousness. This repression can cause a sudden unawareness of some aspect of the individual’s identity or history
Dissociative Amnesia Separate the traumatic event from everything else Memory loss is the only symptom Often selective memory loss surrounding traumatic events
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Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) Originally known as "multiple personality disorder" 2 or more distinct personalities Average number of identities ~ 15 Ratio of females to males is high (9:1) Causes Frequent histories of horrible child abuse Highly suggestible Mechanism to escape from impact of trauma
Psychosis Broad term referring to hallucinations and/or delusions
Schizophrenia A type of psychosis with disturbed thought, language, and behavior Three clusters of symptoms Positive: delusions and hallucinations Negative: withdrawal, apathy, a lack or absence of normal behavior Disorganized thoughts/speech During a 1 month period, 2 (or more) of the following symptoms: Delusions, Hallucinations, Disorganized speech, Grossly disorganized/ Catatonic behavior, Negative Symptoms 1% of population, affects males and females about equally
"Positive" Symptom Cluster Active manifestations of abnormal behavior Delusions (false beliefs) ‘They’re out to get me’ paranoia (e.g., Avoid the Noid example) Being controlled (e.g., the CIA is controlling my brain with a radio signal) Hallucinations (false perceptions) Hearing things that aren’t there
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"Negative" Symptom Cluster Absence or insufficiency of normal behavior Spectrum of Negative Symptoms Avolition (or apathy) – inability to initiate and persist in activities Relative absence of speech Anhedonia – lack of pleasure Affective flattening – show little expressed emotion
"Disorganized" Symptom Cluster Disorganized speech Overinclusion - jumping from idea to idea without the benefit of logical association Tangentiality -- responding in a tangential or irrelevant manner Disorganized behavior -- behavior that is inappropriate for the situation e.g., wearing sweaters and overcoats on hot days Affect is inappropriately expressed laughing at serious things, crying at funny things
Genetic Cause of Schizo. The more related you are to a schizophrenic, the larger chance you have of developing it 50% chance in identical twins
Biological Cause of Schizo. Drug therapy often works Talk therapy does not work Similar prevalence of schizophrenia across different cultures Culture to culture traditions do not effect the chance of developing disease
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Environment Cause of Schizo. Mom has schizophrenia vs. No genetic history Raised in a healthy adoptive environment vs. raised in a psychologically disturbed adoptive environment In a healthy relationship, they were less likely to show mental disorder
The Diathesis-Stress Model Diathesis - Pre-disposition to a particular disorder Stress - Environmental factors that increase the likelihood of a disorder appearing You can have a pre-disposition to a disorder without ever manifesting it when there is no stress
The Dopamine Theory Drugs that reduce dopamine reduce symptoms Drugs that increase dopamine produce symptoms even in people without disorder Theory: Schizophrenia is caused by excess dopamine
Schizophrenia Predictors Early warning signs Nothing very reliable found yet Certain attention deficits common to Sz can be found in children who are at risk for the disorder
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Rates of Mental Disorders 50% of people between 15-54 have had at least some kind of disorder HIghest frequency between ages 25 and 34 Most common disorders in the US population Major depressive disorder ~ 17% Social phobia ~13%
Historical Views of Mental Illness Symptom of demonic possession Treatment: Witch hunts, torture, hanging, burning The dunking test: if woman did NOT drown then she was in league with the devil. If she did drown then she was not in league with the devil
Psychotherapy Treatment involves a structured interaction between a client and a professional Common Types Psychodynamic Humanistic Cognitive Behavior
Psychodynamic Theory Freud thinks mental disorders result from inner mental conflicts, typically from some childhood experience. Basic assumption: understanding and gaining insight about the conflict will resolve the mental disorder Goal Analyst’s job is to make inferences about patient’s unconscious conflicts Once patient experiences them consciously, then he or she can modify and resolve them
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Methods to Psychodynamic Theory Free association Patient relaxes and reports everything that comes to mind Dream analysis Latent content Mistakes Slips of the tongue
Humanistic Therapy Assumes that mental disorders are best treated by increasing awareness of motivations and needs. Thinks that all actions are life promoting Differences from psychodynamic approach Does not focus on unconscious motivations Nonjudgmental because inner feelings & desires are seen as positive & life-promoting Goal: Resolve mental disorders by helping the client grow in self-awareness and self-acceptance Make & take responsibility for life choices
Carl Roger's Client Centered Therapy Therapist focuses on clients perceptions of him or herself in terms of desires and goals Won't make inferences, just lets the client drive the session "Unconditional Positive Regard" Echoing what the patient has said in a positive light
Cognitive Therapy Assume that our thinking influences our feelings Only focused on cognitions that are seen to be maladaptive Wants the patient to change self-defeating into self-serving on their own before it hurts them Goal is to identify problematic styles of thinking (e.g., self-defeating thoughts) and to replace them with beneficial styles Attribution retraining (self-serving bias)
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Maladaptive Thoughts Overgeneralization: a negative event is viewed as a never-ending pattern of defeat Discount the positives: accomplishments and successes “don’t count.” Labeling and identifying with shortcomings: Instead of saying, “I made a mistake,” you tell yourself, “You’re a loser.”
Treating Maladaptive Thoughts Identify the maladaptive thought or anxiety Examine the evidence E.g., when treating anxiety disorders: challenge irrational thoughts about danger, personal vulnerability & ability to tolerate anxiety
Cognitive Techniques for Different Disorders Re-examine irrational appraisals of danger & coping skills: Specific Phobias – examine likelihood/probability of outcome GAD -- what is the utility of assuming the worst Social Phobia – test thoughts re. negative evaluation from others Panic & Agoraphobia – look at past attacks to consider probability
Behavior Therapy Uninterested in self-awareness Relatively uninterested in possible underlying causes Focus on and change observable behaviors via conditioning and other behaviorist methods Methods: Exposure Treatments Flooding, Systematic Desensitization (SD)
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Flooding Force patient to confront their feared object (put head in case of mice)
Systematic Desensitization (SD) Treat an anxiety by pairing a relaxed state with a gradually increasing anxiety-provoking stimulus
Comparing Psychoterapies People report feeling better after therapy Maybe they would have gotten better anyway with the passage of time Studies show that people in therapy do better than no-treatment control groups Different psychotherapies are effective for different problems. There is not a single “super-therapy” that is great for everything.
Bio-Medical Therapy Treatment acts directly on the central nervous system Attempts to solve the mental disorder by altering bodily processes History Drilling holes into head/ blood letting Today Directly alter the nervous system Electric Convulsive Therapy/ Drug therapy
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Electroconvulsive Shock Therapy Originated from observing that epileptics and people who suffer fever-induced convulsions are often NOT depressed Goal of ECT is to induce a seizure similar to that experienced by epileptics; without the seizure ECT is ineffective Used primarily in cases of severe, unrelenting depression Causal mechanism is unclear, except that it involves the frontal lobes 60% people who don’t respond to other treatments get relief from ECT
Drug Therapy 1. Psychopharmacology Generally safe & effective Most popular bio treatment Side effects 2. Antidepressant Drugs Many work to increase the availability in the brain of certain neurotransmitters Prozac makes the neurotransmitter, Serotonin, more available by inhibiting its reuptake by the presynaptic neuron 3. Anti-anxiety Drugs Beta-blockers, such as Inderal, are very effective Originally, a high-blood pressure medicine with the side-effect of causing serenity in stressful sit
Medication Treatment for Schiz. Typical antipsychotic medication (e.g., Thorazine) Reduces relapse rates Motor side effects (shaking, problems controlling movements) Problems Drugs tend to relieve positive but not negative symptoms Compliance: many patients fail to take drug High rates of relapse
Hospital's From a Patient's Perspective Rosenhan (1973): "On being sane in insane places” sane people got into mental hospitals as patients found very low interaction with staff dehumanizing nature of interactions normal behaviors interpreted pathologically
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Main Approaches to Psychotherapy [Recap] Biological - Mental illness understood as physical illness Psychodynamic – Insight into unconscious motives & influence of past on the present Humanistic – Make & take responsibility for life choices Cognitive – Challenge and change maladaptive thoughts Behavior – Change maladaptive behaviors
Charles Johnson Believes that the Earth is flat Flat Earth Society Has a different belief than most other people, but while it might not be the norm, he believes it nontheless
Beliefs 33% Aliens have visited earth 50% ESP is real 40% Ghosts; Haunted houses 28% Communication with dead people Bombarded by Claims everyday
Cartesian View of Believing Statement Understand Assess Believe/Disbelieve
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Spinozan View of Believing Statement Understand & Believe Assess Believe/ Unbelieve People are more like this
Skurnik et al Study Present subjects with statements and an associated truth value Delay 1 day Memory Test Cartesian would say that you are equally likely to choose true or false Spinozan would say that most people would choose true (more likely to just believe)
Selective Exposure: Opportunity People may feel like they know something due to the environment around them Only exposing self to the people who the has the feeling to believe Our friends believe what we believe
Selective Exposure: Attention Pay attention to the information that supports our beliefs
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Selective Exposure: Disconfirmation Unlikely to prove what they think wrong
Beliefs Redux We believe what we are told Beliefs are easier to acquired than to lose
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List View: Terms & Definitions

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 THEME #1: Expectations Influence OutcomesSubliminal Self-Help Tapes: Content of the tapes does not matter at all, the label is all that matters
The individuals perception influences their behavior
Placebo Effect: Treatment which affects your behavior through the power of suggestion

Rosenthal & Jacobson
Decides which students are the smartest in a Lower School classroom
At the end of the year, the students who were called smarter, actually performed better than the other students
The teacher's expectations of the smarter
 THEME #2: Theories Drive Perception, Language and MemoryPerception: "Top Down" Theory Testing
Prior knowledge that we have
Sensation: "Bottom Up" Data Assembly
From what you see and experience
Change Blindness: Illusion that we are encoding a lot of details from an event, when in reality we are encoding very sparse details
Ex. Man answering phone was a different person in different clothes
Problems Extracting Meaning
"Deaf school never heard of benefactor"
"Doctors urge wider colon tests"
Only focusing on individual words, may miss
 THEME #3: The Mind is not UnitaryBrain and Mind are in multiple parts with different functions
Hypothalamus and Thalamus are different parts of the brain
Corpus Callosum patients (Split brain)
See bike on the left, say they don't see anything, yet they draw a bike with their left hand
Left hemisphere controls verbal (why he didn't verbally recognize what he saw)
 THEME #4: Situations Can Exert Enormous Power Over an Individual's BehaviorFundamental Attribution Error
Essay about Castro
People give too much weight to personality and not enough to situational variables
Psychiatrists
Most thought hardly any one would go to the end of the shock experiment
Found out that 2/3 of people will go all the way
Situations are powerful, hard to resist authority
 THEME #5: Humans Have a Hard Time Figuring Out What They Will Do, How They Do It, and Why They Did ItImpact Bias
Talk about emotions before and after a break up
People do not actually feel as bad at they expected
Tend to be biased and think that the impact of an event will last longer than it actually does
 THEME #6: Our Identities Are Products of Both Biological Factors and Social EnvironmentsMental Disorders
You might have a predisposition of schizophrenia yet:
Healthy environments might lead you to never show the disorder
Disturbed environments might bring out the worst in you
 What is Psychology?A science of the mind and behavior
 DualismThe idea that the world is composed of 2 distinct categories of substance
Mental substance (the soul) and Physical substance (the body)
The mind is a product of the soul
Decartes's modified Dualism
Since animals have no soul, much behavior does not require a soul
Body can control much behavior and this can be studied without worrying about being put to death by the church
Argued that the soul's main function was thought - a uniquely human attribute
 MonismBelief that the world can be explained by only one category of substance
Mind is a product of the brain, not a product of the soul
 MaterialismThe view that nothing exists except for matter and energy
All human thought and behavior can be explained in terms of physical processes in the body - in the brain in particular
Brain and mental functions help understand the mind
(Hobbes)
 EmpiricismAll human thought and knowledge are acquired from sensory experience
(Locke, Hume, MIll)
 NativismThe idea that certain elementary ideas are innate to the human mind and do not need to be learned
Ex. Language
(Plato & Immanuel Kant)
 PhrenologyStudying the faculties of the human brain based on a materialistic view
Failed attempt to localize cognitive functions in the brain
(Gall)
1. The brain is the organ of the mind
2. THe mind is composed of distinct, innate faculties
3. Because they are distinct, each faculty must occupy a distinct part or "organ" in the brain
4. The size of an organ, other things being equal, is a measure of its power
5. The Shape of the brain is determined by the development of the various organ
 Broca's AreaDifficulty with speech production, but patients have relatively spared comprehension of language and have problems with repeating
Left inferior frontal gyrus of the brain
 Wernicke's AphasiaProduce speech fluently, but content of the speech is relatively meaningless
 Theory of Natural Selection1. Animal's attributes can be inherited
2. Those survival attributes are more likely to be passed from generations
3. All attributes can evolve, including those that underlie mental processes
4. All animals shaped by natural selection
 IntrospectionismThe study of conscious mental events by "introspecting" or "looking within"
Problems:
One person's impressions are often very different from another's; Lack of public access to one's thoughts; Many interesting metal events are unconscious
 BehaviorismRestrict psychology to truly objective, observable data
Mind is like a black box - results cannot be observed
Emphasis on what can be directly observed: stimuli, responses, reinforcements/ rewards
Problems:
Limiting science to observable things is a bad idea - who has ever actually seen an electron?
 CognitiveInfer what is going on inside the brain (into the black box)
4 Types:
Developmental
Biological
Clinical
Social
 Developmental Perspective (Cognitive)The study of physical, cognitive, and social change across the lifespan
 Biological Perspective (Cognitive)Study of the physiological mechanisms in the brain and nervous system that organize and control behavior
Focus may be at various levels
Individual neurons
Areas of the brain
Interest in behavior distinguishes biological psychology from many other biological sciences
 Clinical Perspective (Cognitive)View of behavior based on studying mental disorders
 Social Perspective (Cognitive)Examines the influence of social processes on the way people think, feel, and behave
 Scientific TheoryExplains through an integrated set of principles and predicts observable behaviors or events
Must generate testable predictions (hypotheses) that can show the theory to be false
 Scientific PsychologyGoals:
Describe - Characterize the features of behavior
Predict - Relate two or more variables informatively
Explain - Understand the cause that lead variables to be related
 CorrelationA measure of the degree to which one variable is related to another.
Ex. Time of year and Mood

Positive Correlation: Ice cream consumption and violent crime (both increase)

Negative Correlation: Grades and TV viewing (grades decrease as TV viewing increases)

No Relation: IQ and Height (random scatter)

r = Correlation Coefficient: + or - correlation; 0.00 - 1.00 strength of relationship
Correlation does NOT mean causality (There can always be a third factor)
 Experimental StudyMethod of determining cause and effect by manipulating certain variables and observing the effect on some behavior
 Independent VariableControlled factor in an experiment, hypothesized to cause an effect on another variable
 Dependent VariableWhat is measured, what is hypothesized to be affected
 Random AssignmentEvery subject in the study should have an equal chance of being placed in any of the conditions (Randomization helps avoid false results)
 Experimenter ExpectancyExperimenter unconsciously treats groups differently. (This is sometimes referred to as Observer expectancy)
Bias in the results that is produced from the researcher’s expectation that subjects will behave in a certain way
 Subject ExpectancySubject has theories about the experiment which influence how he or she performs
[e.g., Placebo Effect ]
 Placebo EffectA treatment that alters a person's behavior or feelings through the power of suggestion
Ex. 1) Wisdom teeth: Some given anesthetic and some saline solution
Ex. 2) Subliminal Self-Help: Given tapes for either self-esteem or memory (some of the labels were mixed up); result = subjects thought they were learning whatever the tape told them even if it was the opposite subject)
Ex. 3) Arthroscopic knee surgery: Some just given a cut, some actually had the procedure; result = Sham surgery had 35%
 Double-BlindA procedure in which both the experimenter and the subjects are ignorant (blind) about the conditions the subjects are in.

Purpose: So neither the experimenter nor the subject will have expectations about how subjects should perform in a particular condition.
 Random SamplingEvery item (e.g., person) has an equal probability of being selected for the sample -- i.e., no selection biases
 Descriptive StatisticsMode
The most frequently occurring score in a distribution
Mean (also called Average)
The arithmetic average of a distribution
Obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores
Median
The middle score in a distribution
Half the scores are above it and half are below it
 Central Nervous SystemThe central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system that functions to coordinate the activity of all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals
Made up of the spinal cord and brain
 Peripheral Nervous SystemSet of nerves that connects the CNS to the sensory organs, muscles, and glands
Autonomic: Controls self-regulated action of internal organs and glands
Sympathetic: When you are stressed out, this system calms you down
Parasympathetic: Regenerates and vitalizes the body; stimulates the digestive processes)
 Spinal CordThe spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue called tracts and support cells that extends from the brain.

Ascending Tract: Carries sensory info brought in by the spinal nerves up to the brain

Descending Tract: Carries motor-control info down from the brain to be transmitted out by the spinal nerves to the muscles
 Brainstem (Hindbrain)Responsible for automatic survival functions, such as controlling breathing and the heartbeat
Consists of Pons, Medulla & Cerebellum
 CerebellumMotor control, posture, important for rapid, well-timed movements; damage to the cerebellum can result in impairments of skilled motor activity
 ThalamusSensory relay station that receives input from most of the sensory modalities -- vision, audition, etc.
 Basal GangliaLies on each side of the Thalamus
Motor control (especially intentional movements)
Parkinson's disease affects the nerves running into the basal ganglia [ex. Operation game]
 AmygdalaProcessing and regulation of emotional states
Amygdalaectomy = No fear conditioning
 HippocampusKey for building long term memories
Damage to this area will prevent any new long term memories, but their memories prior to the damage will be retained
 HypothalamusRegulars many basic body functions: hunger, thirst, sleep, & body temperature
 Cerebral CortexOutermost layer and largest part of the brain, accounting for roughly 80% of its total volume
1/3 is visible, the remaining 2/3’s are hidden within the many folds and fissures
It is between 1 and 4 mm thick
Divided into left and right hemispheres

Overview of Functions
Necessities --> Luxuries
Breathing
Repetitive movement
Sensory information
Emotion, motivation, simple judgement
Volunta
 Specialization of FunctionParietal Lobe: Bodily sensations
Frontal Lobe: Speaking, imaging, and thinking
Temporal Lobe: Hearing and language comprehension
Occipital Lobe: VIsion
 Motor CortexDescribes regions of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary motor functions.
Located at the rear of the frontal lobes

Different parts of each cortex control the motor in each body part
The more cortex devoted to a body part, the finer control we have over that body part
 Sensory CortexRegisters body sensations
Located at the front of the parietal lobes

Different parts of each cortex control the motor in each body part
The more cortex devoted to a body part, the finer control we have over that body part
 HomunculusAny representation of a human being
A figure designed to represent what you would look like if the size of your body parts was determined by how much space they are given in your motor and sensory cortices
 Motor CrossoverRight hemisphere controls left side of the body
Left hemisphere controls right side of the body
 Visual CrossoverLeft visual field to the right hemisphere
Right visual field to the left hemisphere
 Corpus CallosumLarge bundle of neural fibers (axons, specifically) connecting the two brain hemispheres
The main pathway that links and sends communication between the two hemispheres
Permits date received in one hemisphere to be processed by the other hemisphere
 Hemispheric DifferencesLeft Hemisphere:
1. Language
2 Right side of the body
3. Right visual field

Right Hemisphere:
1. Face recognition
2. Perceiving others' emotions
3. Left side of the body
4. Left visual field
 AphasiaImpairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding)
 Frontal LobesMakes up 1/3rd of the cortex
Ex. Phineas Gage
Suffered massive damage to frontal lobes and his personality changed - lost ability to inhibit the inappropriate thoughts and he just said anything he wanted to
 PsychosurgeryPsychosurgery is a subset of neurosurgery (surgery of the brain) intended to modulate the performance of the brain, and thus effect changes in cognition, with the intent to treat or alleviate severe mental illness.
(Egas Moniz)
 Spatial ResolutionHow close in physical proximity you can get to the target brain area
 Temporal ResolutionHow close in time you can get to when the neurons fire
 Electroencephalography (EEG)Measures electrical signals associated with neural firing in brain areas
[Excellent temporal resolution, poor, spatial resolution, non-invasive]
 CT (Computed Tomography) ScanVersion of X-ray which provides information about brain structure
[Fair spatial resolution and no temporal resolution]
 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)[Excellent spatial resolution, no temporal resolution, non-invasive)
 fMRIBased on changes in oxygen consumption and blood flow, which are byproducts of neural activity
[Provides great spatial resolution and it also images the brain in action, fair temporal resolution, non-invasive]

Generating a functional image
Neural activation causes: 1) a change in blood flow in that activated region; and 2) a change in the concentration of deoxygenated blood in that region
BOLD (Blood oxygen level dependent): Oxygenated blood has different magnetic properties than deoxygenated
 Dendrite (in Neuron)The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
 Cell BodyContains the cell's Nucleus
Round, centrally located structure
Contain DNA
 AxonThe extension of a neuron, ending in terminal fibers, through which messages are sent to other neurons or to muscles or glands
The cell's output structure: One axon per cell, 2 distinct parts
Tubelike structure and branches at end that connect to other cells
May travel long distances to reach its destination (approx. 3 feet in humans)
 Myelin SheathWhite fatty casing on axon made of glial cells
Acts as an electrical insulator
Increases the speed of neural signals down the axon.
It’s the whiteness of these fatty cells that gives rise to the name “White Matter.”
Myelin Sheath is not party of the axon
 Sensory NeuronsSend input from sensory areas to the brain and spinal cord
Responsible for converting external stimuli from the environment into internal stimuli
 Motor NeuronsSend output from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands
 InterneuronsAn interneuron (also called relay neuron, association neuron or local circuit neuron) is a multipolar neuron which carries information between other neurons
 Neural DevelopmentSome takes place in the womb but continues after birth until the age of 18
Occipital lobes finish development first and the frontal lobes finish last
 "Wiring-up" ProcessThe neurons start to wire up and form more and more connections
 PlasticityNeural tissue can reorganize in response to damage, If the brain is still developing (i.e., a very young person)
 Action PotentialA brief electrical charge that travels down an axon and influences the activity of the receiving neuron. These action potential cause neurotransmitters to be released from the axon terminal which travel across the synapse and bind with receptor sites on the receiving cell
Unidirectional
Enhanced by myelin
 SynapseJunction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron
 NeurotransmittersChemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons
Effect on the receiving neuron can be either excitatory (making the receiving neuron more likely to fire) or inhibitory (making the receiving neuron less likely to fire)
 AgonistsIncrease the effect of a neurotransmitter
 AntagonistsInterfere with the effect of a neurotransmitter
 Alzheimer's DiseaseDisease is progressive, more and more brain regions become afflicted with time
Causes
Genetic, environmental, unknown
Destroys brain tissue beginning with hippocampus
cell death due to abnormal proteins deposited in the brain
 SensationThe construction of "reality"
The process by which sense organs gather information about the environment and transmit it to the brain
 Stages of Sensation1. Stimulation: Energy contains information and the world and accessory structure modifies energy (stimulus)

2. Transduction: Translate physical stimuli in the environment into neural signals in the brain

3. Transmission: Sensory nerve transfers the coded activity tot eh central nervous system

4. Representation in the brain: Thalamus processes and relays neural response; cortex receives input and produces the sensation
 TasteBitter, Salty, Sweet, Sour, Umami (savory sensation)
Receptors are in different areas of the tongue and are not distributed evenly throughout the tongue
 Taste budsContain taste receptors
Each bud contains 50 - 150 taste receptor cells
Send information to the Gustatory sensory neurons
Most people have 2000 to 10000 taste buds with 2/3 on the tongue
 SmellChemical receptors in the nose
When you smell the sensory neurons activate and you can identify the smell
Without smell it is hard to identify what you are tasting
Woman are more accurate at identifying smells over men
 SoundFrequency: Related to the pitch
Amplitude: Related to the loudness of a sound
 EarPurpose:
Measure the frequency (pitch) of sound waves
Measure the amplitude (loudness) of sound waves
 Outer EarActs as a funnel to direct sound waves towards inner structures
 Middle EarConsists of three small bones (or ossicles) that amplify sound
 Inner EarContains the structure that transduce sound into a neural response
 TouchPressure, warmth, pain, cold
Receptors are the sensory neurons are in and below the epidermis
 PainA-delta Fibers (myelinated): Thick, fast conducting neurons (sharp, quick pain)
C-Fibers (unmyelinated): Thin, slow conducting neurons (slow, throbbing pain)
 Gate-Control TheoryExplains variability in the experience of painful events
Argues that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain
Increase or decrease pain by opening or shutting the "gate"
Increase in pain sensitivity with illness
Release of endorphins in brain can close the "gate" and dampen pai
 Phantom Limb PainThe experience of pain does not always originate from pain receptors
Roughly 80% of amputees have some phantom limb sensations
The brain does not need sensory input from a body part in order to generate pain
Brain is genetically wired to be connected to every part of the body and there is no perception that the limb is missing (common)
 VisionPurpose of the visual system
Transform light energy into a neural impulse
Represent characteristics of objects in our environment such as size, color, shape, and location
 Compound EyesMultiple lenses (flies, lobsters, etc.)
 Simple EyesSingle lenses (humans, spiders, squid, etc.)
Eye works like a camera, using a lens to focus light onto a photo-sensitive surface at the back of a sealed structure
 RetinaLight sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye
Light entering eye triggers photochemical reaction in rods and cones at the back of the retina
 RodsPermit vision in dim light and are everywhere except in the fovea
Concentrated in periphery
Approx. 120 million

Photoreceptors (i.e., receptor cells) which transduce (ie., convert) the energy in light into a neural response
 ConesPermit color vision and are most concentrated in the fovea (the pinhead-size area of the retina that is in the most direct line of sight)
C = Cones, Center, Color
Concentrated in center of eye (fovea)
Approx. 6 million

Photoreceptors (i.e., receptor cells) which transduce (ie., convert) the energy in light into a neural response
 FoveaPoint of central focus; where most of the cones are
 Blind SpotOur visual system "fills in" this spot
Always there, but we don't normally notice it
Assumes that any given area in a visual scene has the same color, brightness, and texture as the immediately surrounding areas, in the absence of contrary information
 Light EnergyElectromagnetic energy hits our eyes
Two key aspects of light
1. Our visual system interprets differences in the wavelength of light as color
Short wavelength = high frequency (bluish colors, high-pitched sounds)
Long wavelength = low frequency (reddish colors, low-pitched sounds)

2. Our visual system interprets differences in the amplitude of light as intensity
Great amplitude (bright colors, loud sounds)
Small amplitude (dull colors, soft sounds)
 Color VisionAll colors are created by 3 primary colors: Red, Green & Blue
Rods are color blind (b/c only one type of rod), but with cones we can see all colors (b/c three types of cones)
 Color Blindness5% of men and less than 1% of woman
Monochromats have none or one functioning cone and respond to light like black and white film (extremely rare)
Dichromats have two functioning cone systems (usually either green or red cone malfunctions)
 Opponent Process TheorySome aspects of our color perception are difficult to explain by the trichromatic theory alone
Example: afterimages
If we view colored stimuli for an extended period of time, we will see an afterimage in a complementary color
To account for phenomena like complementary afterimages, Ewald Herring proposed that we have different types of color-opponent cells
Red-green opponent cells
Blue-yellow opponent cells
Black-white opponent cells
Our current view of color vision is that it
 SensationA message that our brain receives from one of the senses
 PerceptionProcess of using prior knowledge and experience to interpret and make sense of these sensations
Perceptions of the world result from a combination of sensory information (data-driven) and pre-existing knowledge (concept-driven)
 Visual Agnosias(Occipital Lobe to Temporal Lobe)
Inability to learn about and recognize objects by sight
Can recognize objects using other sensory modalities – touch, smell, taste, sound
Can draw, but not copy, objects
 ProsapognosiaDescribed by a patient with prosopagnosia as “an apple with two worm holes, a folded over stem and a crease”
 Top-Down ProcessingPre-existing knowledge on our eventual perception of things in the world
 Bottom-Up ProcessingThe flow of information from the world into the perceptual system
 Gestalt Grouping PrinciplesGestalt theorists argued that our perceptual systems automatically organized sensory input based on certain rules
Proximity
Group nearby figures together; Objects near each other tend to be seen as a unit
Similarity
Group figures that are similar; Objects similar to each other tend to be seen as a unit
Closure
Fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object
Continuity
Objects that are connected by a smooth curve tend to be seen as a unit
Connec
 Perceived Size and DepthTo perceive the size of objects accurately we must also perceive their distance accurately
Many visual illusions occur simply because a particular image lacks sufficient depth cues
 The Size-Distance ProblemThe Ames room is designed so that the depth cues give the illusion that the two people are equally far away
We are able to see in 3-D because our visual system uses depth cues that appear in the retinal images
 Binocular Depth CuesDepth cues that involve comparing the left and right eye images
This difference between the image in the two eyes is know as Binocular Disparity
 Monocular Depth CuesDepth cues that appear in the image in either the left or right eye
Allow us to see in 3-D with the view of only one eye, but our best depth perception occurs if we look through both eyes
This is because our right and left eyes see a slightly different view of the world
 Depth Cue: Relative SizeSize-Distance Problem: If two objects are assumed to be the same size (e.g, the oars) but one appears bigger then it must be closer
 Depth Cue: Linear PerspectiveApparent convergence of parallel lines suggests distance
 Depth Cue: Texture GradientsThe elements of a texture become smaller and more densely packed together as they recede into the distance...another reliable depth cue
 Depth Cue: Relative HeightProximity to the horizon signals greater distance
 Perceptual ConstancyWhen viewing conditions change, the retinal image changes even if the objects being viewed remain constant
Important function of the perceptual system is to represent constancy in our environment even when the retinal image varies
 Size ConstancyThe two men are the same size even though their image sizes differ
The depth cues such as linear perspective help the visual system judge the size accurately
 Shape ConstancyIt is hard to tell if the figure on the upper right is a trapezoid or a square slanted backward
If we add texture, the texture gradient helps us see that it is actually a square
 Color ConstancyColor constancy is an example of subjective constancy and a feature of the human color perception system which ensures that the perceived color of objects remains relatively constant under varying illumination conditions.
 AttentionSome aspects of our perception are under our conscious attentive control
Example: In a large crowd, we can concentrate on listening to some people and ignoring others
 The Stroop EffectSome abilities which once required attention can become automatic through practice
John Stroop found that the act of reading could interfere with your ability to perform simple perceptual distinctions like naming colors

4 Findings
Word processing is faster than color naming
Words interfere with color naming
Colors do not interfere with word reading
Interference is greater than facilitation in the color-naming conditions

For adults, reading has become such an automatized process that i
 SelectivityOnly aware of a subset of stimuli--selective attention
Ex. When you are in a crowded room, and you are attempting to follow a single conversation amidst lots of others
Color is a primitive feature that we can select
Color and line orientation are easy to pick out separately
 Capacity LimitationsLimited ability to handle different tasks or stimuli at once
 Feature Integration TheoryDetecting features is relatively automatic, and that integrating multiple features together and identifying the objects is more attention-demanding
(Treisman)
 Conjunction SearchAll objects composed of primitive features jump out easily
Integrating these features into perceptual wholes is slower
Combination of features and spatial arrangements of features
 Pre-attentive ProcessingAutomatic registration of features – effortless and occurs in parallel
 Focused AttentionIntegration/processing of multiple features at once – effortful, conscious, occurs serially
 Feature DetectionObjects are easier to detect when they can be defined by a single feature
 Feature IntegrationObjects are harder to detect when they are defined on the basis of a combination of basic visual features
 Left Visual NeglectInability or difficulty to attend to the left side of visual space or of an object. Caused by lesion in the right parietal lobe
Balint's Syndrome: Cannot see two objects at the same time
Some evidence suggest that they two hemispheres are in competition with each other
 Attending without moving eyesFocus of attention does NOT depend on where your eyes are pointing. We can move our attention independently of our eyes. You can look one way and attend to something that is elsewhere.
Attention amplifies our ability to sense information
 Attention as a "Selection Mechanism"When you are not attending to something, you become less likely to notice things
 Dichotic ListeningIn cognitive psychology, dichotic listening is a procedure commonly used to investigate selective attention in the auditory system
Do not notice the change in language, but can notice a change in pitch or disappearing of the message
Attention is a gateway to memory
 Control ProcessesControl movement of information within and between memory stores
 Sensory Memory StoreFunction - holds information long enough to be processed for basic physical characteristics
Capacity - large
Duration - very brief retention of images
Decays rapidly
.3 sec for visual info (iconic memory)
2 sec for auditory info (echoic memory)
 Sperling's ExperimentFlash matrix of letters for 1/20 of a second
Report as many letters as possible
Subjects recall only half of the letters
 Iconic MemoryVisual Information
 Echoic MemoryAuditory Information
 Working (Short) Memory StoreFunction - conscious processing of information
Where information is actively worked on
Attention is required to transfer information to the working memory
Phonological Loop Central Executive Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
 Phonological LoopLimited Capacity (only 7 plus or minus 2 chunks of information)
Temporary, sound-based storage
Must be attended to periodically and rehearsed in order to be preserved
Preserves information for about 2 seconds unless it is refreshed
 Phonological Similarity EffectImpaired serial recall when the items are similar in sound (e.g., BCDVTP is harder to remember than RKPOSL).
Explanation:
Phonological store is based on a phonological code and similar sounding items have a similar code.
Similar codes leads to more interference
 Word-Length EffectWelsh have very poor memory spans (i.e., how many items -- usually numbers -- that can be recalled in order)
Different languages have different # of syllables per digit. Takes longer to say Welsh digits than English digits
Therefore, recall accuracy of numbers should be different across languages
 Visuo-Spatial SketchpadAnalogous to the Phonological Loop, except for visual information
Limited Capacity
Must be attended to periodically and rehearsed in order to be preserved
 Central ExecutiveAttentional controller that selects and regulates the flow of information within Working Memory
 ChunkingA category of information that lets you group/organize underlying items
Our short term memory capacity is 7 plus or minus 2 chunks of information
 Long-Term MemoryLong-term memory (LTM) is memory that can last as little as a few days or as long as decades.
Encoding: Process that controls movement from working to long-term memory
Retrieval: Process that controls flow of information from long-term memory to working memory
 Flashbulb MemoryHappens during very high emotion, resulting memory is very complete, very accurate and is immune to forgetting (ALL claims)
Proof that they are immune to forgetting and can be grossly inaccurate after time
YET, they are different from everyday memories in terms of how confidently individuals believe in them
 AmnesiaEvidence for separate LTM and WM
Amnesiacs show normal working memory
Amnesiacs cannot form new conscious long term memories (cannot encode) Caused by damage to hippocampus and/or surrounding areas
Procedural Memory: Intact in amnesia
The Mirror-Drawing Task: Improves in how well they can draw
Jigsaw Puzzles: Takes them normal time at first, but they improve over time
Will NEVER remember doing the task
 Encoding FailuresEven though you’ve seen thousands of pennies you’ve probably never attended to one closely enough to encode all of its specific features
Sheer repetition does NOT necessarily lead to good memory
 Retrieval FailureNot all forgetting is due to encoding failures
Sometimes info IS encoded into LTM, but we can’t retrieve it
Retrieval failure theories
Interference
Retrieval cue problems
 InterferenceForgetting is NOT caused by mere passage of time
Caused by one memory competing with or replacing another memory
 Retroactive InterferenceWhen a NEW memory interferes with remembering OLD information
People are worse after describing the face because their memory for what they wrote interferes with their memory for what they initially saw.
And, the verbal memory is usually a less accurate representation of the face than the visual memory.
 Proactive InterferenceWhen an OLD memory interferes with memory for New information
Example: When an old phone number interferes with your ability to remember a new phone number
 Retrieval Cue ProblemsRetrieval cue - a clue, prompt or hint that can help memory retrieval
Forgetting is the result of using improper or insufficient retrieval cues
 Context-Dependent MemoryImproved ability to remember if tested in the same environment as the initial learning environment
 Tip-of-the-Tongue StateMarked by a temporary failure to retrieve information that one is sure exists in long-term memory and is on the verge of recovering
 Memory DistortionWhat we remember is NOT an exact replica of what happened
 Associative Memory IllusionExperiment: Subjects study lists of 15 related words, all associates of a single word that is not presented.
Remembering is a constructive activity and subject to illusions.
This procedure reveals a striking memory illusion in which people recall, recognize and “remember” words that were never presented.
 The Power of SuggestionBasic element of our legal system but it is flawed
An eyewitness is the only major piece of evidence in ~80,000 cases each year
Mistaken eyewitness is the #1 cause of false convictions
 Loftus ExperimentExperiment: After witnessing an accident, subjects were asked how fast the cars were going when they "smashed" into each other or "hit" each other
1 week later, 34% in "smashed" remember broken glass
14.5% in "hit" remember broken glass
There was NO broken glass at all
 Inaccurate MemoriesInaccurate memories can occur when people confuse what they only imagined or described with what they saw.
Can cause inaccurate eye-witness testimony
Children are especially vulnerable to giving inaccurate testimony (e.g., Bruck video)
 Recovered Memory DebateIs it possible to have something traumatic happen to you and for you to forget it for an extended period of time, and to recover it many years later?

Reasons to Doubt
Trauma is memorable
Extended delay makes accurate retrieval implausible
Reasons to believe it
There may be functional reasons to forget

May be functionally important for the child to forget (repress) memory of abuse by a parent
 Active ForgettingThink/No-Think paradigm provides one of the few pieces of evidence for the existence of a repression-like forgetting process.

Of course, these were only word pairs. The next step is to see if this effect generalizes to more emotional events.
 Universals of LanguageReferential: Refers to and describes specific things and events in the world (ex. Platypus, Frodo)
Interpersonal: Allows conversation with another
Structured: Grammar, or set of rules (syntactic principles)
Dynamic: New words and phrases are constantly appearing
 PhonemeThe smallest distinctive sound unit, usually corresponding to the letters of the alphabet (e.g., t, d, th, a, ee)
 MorphemeThe smallest meaningful piece of language, usually a word or a part of word (e.g., prefix)
 The Segmentation ProblemAcoustic Ambiguity: Different places speak differently or words can be heard in different ways
Well -- in Texas sounds like "whale"

Phonemes are often hard to extract from the sound stream. Need to know or guess the word to extract the phonemes.
Need the meaning of the sentence to understand the words.
 OronymsStrings of sound that can be carved into words in two different ways
The stuffy nose can lead to problems OR The stuff he knows can lead to problems
 Problems Extracting MeaningAmbiguity
"Drop your trousers here for best results"
"Jane Fonda to teens: Use head to avoid pregnancy"
 Functional Fixedness/ Mental SetTendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions
Bad problem-solving techniques
Ex. Candle attached to bulletin board problem
Ex. Without lifting pen, draw 4 straight lines and connect all 9 dots
 Confirmation BiasTendency for people to confirm their preconceptions or hypotheses, rather than falsify
Verify Rule: If there is a vowel on one side, there is an even number on the other side.
 Conjunction FallacyLogical fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that specific conditions are more probable than a single general one
Ex. Probability that Linda is a bank teller and a feminist cannot be greater than the probability that Linda is a bank teller
 Representative HeuristicRule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes
 Availability HeuristicPeople predict the frequency of an event, or a proportion within a population, based on how easily an example can be brought to mind - Within the Availability Bias
Ex. Are there more 4-letter words with R in the 3rd or first place?
We think 1st place only because we can think of the answers quicker, but in fact there are more with R in the 3rd place
 Availability BiasPeople predict the frequency of an event, or a proportion within a population, based on how easily an example can be brought to mind
Ex. Which is the leading cause of death?
Homicide or diabetes? - Diabetes
Lighting or appendicitis? - Appendicitis
*We judge based on what the media implies
 Gambler's FallacyFallacious inference that a sequence of independent events makes future events more or less likely
 Prospect TheoryPeople tend to be risk seeking with losses and risk averse with gains
Saving lives = Gain Frame = Risk-Averse
Killing lives = Loss Frame = Risk-seeking
 Motivational State or DriveAn internal condition, which can change over time, that orients an individual to a specific set of goals (e.g., hunger, thirst)
 HomeostasisThe tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state
Process by which bodily functions are regulated to maintain a steady state
An upset in homeostasis leads to induced behavior to correct imbalance
 Regulatory DrivePrimary biological drives that result in death, if ignored (e.g., hunger, thirst, oxygen, sleep, temperature control)
 Nonregulatory DriveDrives to satisfy needs that are not life-threatening (e.g., sex), but may contribute to emotional and/or biological well-being, such as attachment
 HypothalamusRegulates many drive systems: hunger, thirst, sleep, body temperature
Lateral and Ventromedial areas play a central role in hunger drive
Stimulation will increase the hunger drive
Destruction will reduce the hunger drive
 Ventromedial AreaStimulation depresses hunger
Destruction causes obesity
Food is converted into fat rather than energy molecules, causing the animal to eat much more than normal
 Lateral AreaStimulation increases hunger
Destruction will reduce the hunger drive
 Nonregulatory Drive: SexSex is a physiologically based motive, like hunger, but, unlike hunger, the lack of sex does not cause death

A consistent finding is that men generally have a higher level of sexual motivation than do women

Buss study: Proving that men have stronger sex drive than women
 Regulatory Drive: SleepDifferent animals sleep for different periods of time
Sleep deprivation leads to death
 Measuring Sleep ActivityElectrodes placed on the scalp provide a gross record of the electrical activity of the brain
EEG recordings are a rough index of psychological states
 Alpha WavesElectrical activity of a relaxed brain
Drowsy, non-attentive
 Sleep Stage 1Brief transition stage when first falling asleep
Theta waves
 Sleep Stages 2-4Successively deeper stages of sleep that are characterized by an increasing percentage of irregular, high-amplitude Delta Waves
 Sleep Stage 4Biggest and slowest brain waves
Takes the most stimulation to awaken someone
Upon reaching this stage, sleep lightens and returns through stages 3 and 2
 Non-REM SleepCharacterized by an active brain and a moveable body
Divided into 4 stages based on the size and speed of the brain waves generated by the sleeper
Four or five sleep cycles occur in a typical night's sleep Progressively less time is spent in the deepest stage of sleep, more is spent in REM
 REM (Dreaming) SleepCharacterized by an active brain but a relaxed and paralyzed body
 Deep SleepMore occurs after strenuous physical activity, such as running a marathon
Thought to be the most restorative stage of sleep
 Function of SleepCreativity is effected by sleep
Those who slept with REM were more likely to solve problems
Those who slept with no REM and those with no sleep performed worse

Stimulation of Medial preoptic area causes an animal to fall asleep
 Sleep DeprivationEffects:
Death
impaired immune system
Irritability
Slowed performance
Accidents - Less sleep, more accidents when time changed in the spring to lose an hour of sleep
 EmotionsA class of subjective feelings elicited by stimuli that have high significance to an individual
Stimuli that produce high arousal generally produce strong feelings
Can be rapid and automatic
 Emotional ForecastingAsks how accurate we are at predicting future emotional states and how long an emotion will last
Ex. People think they will feel horrible 2 months after a break up
People ACTUALLY feel better 2 months after a break up
 Impact BiasThe tendency to overestimate the duration of the emotional consequences of an event
Underestimate the power of our emotional setpoint
Good at predicting valence and intensity of emotional reactions
Bad at predicting how LONG these emotional reactions will last
 Adaptation-Level PrincipleAdapt to a current situation so that it becomes normal or the “neutral level.” Changes from this neutral level produce an emotional response.
 Huntington's DiseasePeople with the disease become really depressed but eventually level out with feelings
People without the disease become very happy but level out the same as the people who have the disease
Diminishing around 6-12 months
 Common-Sense Theory of EmotionCommon sense suggests that the perception of a stimulus elicits the emotion which then causes bodily arousal
[Shark sighting --> Fear --> Pounding heart (arousal)]

Problem:
We sometimes react physically before (or simultaneously as) we’re aware of what we’re feeling
 James-Lange Theory of EmotionPerception of a stimulus causes bodily arousal which leads to emotion
[Shark sighting --> Pounding heart (arousal) --> Fear]
Events lead to physical changes
Emotions are the result of awareness of those changes
 Schachter-Singer Two Factory TheoryInteraction of Inference and Arousal
Inference influences KIND of emotion
(Shark sighting --> Inference ("Danger") --> Fear]
Degree of arousal influences the INTENSITY
(Shark sighting --> Pounding heart (arousal) --> Fear]
 Misattribution of EmotionMen who walked across a narrow, scary bridge showed more attraction to a female experimenter than did men who walked across a stable bridge
 Ekman's Facial Feedback TheoryEach basic emotion is associated with a unique facial expression
Sensory feedback from the expression contributes to the emotional feeling
Facial expressions have an effect on self-reported happiness and anger
Facial expressions can produce effects on the rest of the body
Heart beating faster = anger, fear, sadness
Temperature increase = anger
 AmygdalaBrain's shortcut (the fast pathway) for emotions
 Emotion and the BrainStimulus >
Perception >
Fast Route = Amygdala
Slow Route = Frontal Lobes
Emotion
 Frontal LobesInfluence people's conscious emotional feelings and ability to act in planned ways based on feelings (e.g., effects of frontal lobotomy)
Left frontal lobe = Positive emotions
Right frontal lobe = Negative emotions
Frontal lobotomy can leave emotions flat so that there is little variation in the person’s emotions
People with frontal damage show much less of a response to gruesome scenes than do healthy subjects
 Brain Hemispheres and EmotionRight hemisphere is critical for evaluating other people’s emotions. This hemisphere receives input from the left half of the visual world. Left half of these images carry more weight in judgment of emotion
 Genetics and EmotionEmotional expression appears very early in life
More support for the genetic basis of emotions: Humans and other primates, especially chimpanzees, seem to share similar facial expressions
Strongest evidence for a genetic component to emotions comes from children who are born blind - Never seen a face, yet have the same emotions
Hard-wired and genetically apparent in all of us
Common facial expressions all over the world
 Culture and EmotionDisplay rules vary by culture
We hide sadness and emphasize putting on a happy face
Many cultures hide anger, don’t permit its display
Some asian cultures emphasize not showing emotions in public. But, this does not mean they feel differently.
When a Japanese person noticed that someone was watching them, they were more restrained in their expression
 Honest Display TheoryEmotions are cues that facilitate our ability to interact with others
See another’s expression, read their emotion, and predict their behavior
Way of making honest exchanges between people
 "Gut-Feeling" TheoryDecisions are based on our gut feelings
Emotions help us make decisions
Use imagined emotional responses for guidance
Easier than rationally summing up the pros and cons of each choice
Ex. Go home for the weekend and help parents or go to a concert with friends
 IntelligenceCapacity for goal-directed and adaptive behavior
Involves certain abilities
Profit from experience
Solve problems
Reason effectively

Intelligence has been described at three levels of analysis:
As consisting of one thing (e.g., Spearman)
As consisting of a few things (e.g., Cattell)
As consisting of many things (e.g., Gardner)
 Intelligence as a Single TraitIs intelligence a single entity that influences all aspects of cognitive functioning?
One hypothesis holds that each of us possesses a certain amount of g, or general intelligence, that influences our ability on all intellectual tasks.
 Intelligence as a Few Basic AbilitiesTwo types: Crystallized and Fluid Intelligence
Factors of general intelligence
 Crystallized IntelligenceAmount of information that is known (e.g., factual knowledge about the world, word meanings, arithmetic, etc)
Mental ability derived from previous experience (e.g., word meanings, use of tools, cultural practices)
Defining words, identifying people and what they do
Intelligence peaks around 50 years old
 Fluid IntelligenceThe ability to process information, such as the ability to think on the spot by drawing inferences and understanding relations between concepts not previously encountered
Less by culture, more basic, on the spot knowledge and not dependent on pervious experiences
Matrices test - can complete even if you haven't seen one before
Intelligence peaks ~ 20-25 years old then declines
 Multiple IntelligencesHoward Gardner, 1980's:
1 Linguistic
2 Logical-mathematical
3 Spatial
4 Musical
5 Bodily-Kinesthetic
6 Intra-personal (self-understanding)
7 Inter-personal (social skills)
 Savant SyndromeCondition in which a person, otherwise limited in mental ability, has an amazing specific skill
Ex. Wilshire - Very artistic but subnormal in understanding skills (comparing similar words)
Ex. George and Charles - Can compute the dates from over 80,000 years ago but have IQ's between 40-70
 Alfred BinetGoal: To identify children who needed special help
Binet’s notion of Mental Age
chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance
child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8
 The Stanford-Binet Scaleintelligence quotient (IQ) = child’s mental age divided by child’s chronological age and then multiplied by 100
IQ = MA/CA x 100 (CA = Chronological age)
E.g., IQ = 13/10 x 100 = 130
The IQ is absurd when applied to adults
Drawback: IQ in military as instrument for leaders or for immigration since it was used to screen people coming in to the USA
Not accurate when judging real like intelligence
 The Wechsler TestsMost widely used intelligence tests today
Two main subtests
Verbal
Performance (nonverbal)
Normal Curve: 68% of people score within 15 points of 100 and 95% score within 30 points of 100
Identifies strengths as well as weaknesses
Every few years it is updated because people's scores keep increasing
 RelatednessThe probability that another person shares another gene with you
We all have 99.9% of our genes in common so this concept of relatedness only tells us about genes that can vary from person to person (i.e., that .1%)
That .1% difference has to carry all of the differences from one person to another

Identical Twins - 100% relatedness
Parent/Child, siblings, fraternal twins - 50% relatedness
 HeritabilityDegree to which variation in a characteristic stems from genetic differences among individuals (height, etc.)
As they get older, intelligence changes - Cognitive score is better in identical twins
Genetic and non-shared environment are most and shared environment has less effect on twins
 h^2 = Heritability CoefficientA number that estimates the degree to which differences in a characteristic from one person to another are caused by genetic differences

h2 = Vgenetic
(Vgenetic + Venvironment)

Single number 0 - 1.0
0 means no variance (differences from one person to another due to genetics)
1 means all variance due to genetics
.3 means 30% due to genetic differences, 70% due to environmental differences
 Behavioral GeneticsAn area of psychology concerned with how variation in behavior and development results from the combination of genetic and environmental factors.
 Adoption/Twin StudiesUsual parent-child IQ correlation: r = .35
Adopted child and BIRTH mother: r = .31
Adopted child and adoptive mother: r = .19
Heredity is a slightly better predictor of a child’s IQ than is family environment

Fraternal Twins’ IQ correlation: r = .60
Identical Twins’ IQ correlation: r = .86
Identical Twins raised apart: r = .78
Genes matter
 Flynn EffectThe average IQ score has risen continuously over the past 80 years
Improved performance on IQ tests over the years
Big increases in tests assessing fluid intelligence, smallest in factual knowledge
 Gender Differences in IQWomen and men have almost the same IQ scores
Some evidence suggests that women have an advantage with linguistic tasks and men have an advantage with spatial tasks
 ExpertiseRefers to the mechanisms underlying the superior achievement of an expert, i.e. one who has acquired special skill in or knowledge of a particular subject through professional training and practical experience
Ex. Chess pieces, memorizing numbers
Practice makes one perfect and more knowledgeable in whichever specific area they study
 ReflexesGenetically coded responses to events
 LearningThe ability to acquire new responses or to optimize or alter existing reflexes
 Classical ConditioningPavlov's famous experiment with dogs
Respond to stimulus and begin to drool even before food is presented
Stimulus precedes the response and elicits it
 Neural StimulusDoes not normally elicit a response or reflex action by itself
A bell ringing
A color
A furry object
 Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)Always elicits a reflex action: an unconditioned response
Food
Blast of air
Noise
Seeing a tiger
 Unconditioned Response (UCR)A response to an unconditioned stimulus -- naturally occurring
Salivation at the smell of food
Eye blink at blast of air
Startle reaction in babies
 Conditioned Stimulus (CS)The stimulus that was originally neutral becomes conditioned after it has been paired with the unconditioned stimulus
Will eventually elicit the unconditioned response by itself
Metronome, food, metronome, foot, etc.
 Conditioned Response (CR)The original unconditioned response becomes associated with and is triggered by the conditioned stimulus
Response triggered by metronome
 ExtinctionRepeatedly presenting the CS (e.g., bell or Jaws Music) without the UCS (food or Shark) diminishes the CR (salivation or Fear)
Without a response, the stimulus means nothing
Dog hears bell and food never comes, eventually they will stop drooling
 Spontaneous RecoveryAfter passage of time the partial return of a CR that had been extinguished
Slow extinction of food (only ring bell); but experiences spontaneous recovery after two hours and will drool again
 GeneralizationCR gets triggered by things that resemble the CS
Little Albert was trained to cry at the sight of a white rat - soon adopted to cry when he saw bunnies and Santa Claus
 Biological PreparednessPropensity to learn some kind of associations over others
Saccharine taste + light + sound experiment with rats
 Operant ConditioningThe role of reinforcement and punishment in shaping behavior
The process by which a behavior becomes associated with its consequence
Stimulus follows the response and strengthens it (Skinner)
 Thorndike and the Puzzle BoxThe law of effect is essentially any behavior that leads to a satisfying state of affairs is more likely to occur again
Any behavior that leads to a more negative state of affairs is less likely to occur again
Studies hungry cats - placed in a box and timed how long it took for them to get out
After many trials, it took less and less time to figure out how to get out of the box
 Thorndike's Law of EffectPositive outcomes (e.g., rewards) increase the frequency of a response
Negative outcomes (e.g., punishment) decrease the frequency of a response.
The tendency to perform a given response is strengthened or weakened by the effect that the response brings about.
 B.F. SkinnerThought that the things you couldn't observe (memory) shouldn't be part of the theory
Wanted to focus on observable behavior
The way we are and behavior is all a product of how we have been raised and punished before
The Skinner Box
Similar to Thorndike's puzzle
Animal acts one way and receives a reward for their behavior (ex. pecking on a lever)
 ShapingReward behaviors that increasingly resemble desired behavior
Skinner -- Play ping-pong with pigeon
 Reinforcement ScheduleInterval (time): You get paid for every time the boss walks by and sees you working [fixed]/ The boss might not come by at a fixed interval, instead randomly, but when he sees you working, you get paid [variable]
Ex. Look at watch during lecture until the end of the lecture = Fixed interval

Ratio (action): You get paid for every 5 widgets you make [fixed]/ You don't know how many widgets you have to make in order to get paid [variable]
Ex. Frequent Flyer Program = Fixed ratio
 Variable Reinforcement EffectVariably reinforced behaviors resist extinction
Fixed Reinforcement – Quick learning; Quick extinction (Cleaning your room and getting paid)
Variable Reinforcement – Slower learning; Slower extinction (Gambling)
 Reinforcement and PunishmentPositive Reinforcement: Increases response rate and response causes a stimulus to be presented
M&M's or money
Negative Reinforcement: Increases response rate and response causes a stimulus to be removed
Excused from chores or lab quiz
Positive Punishment: Decreases response rate and response causes a stimulus to be presented
Shock or frequent mocking
Negative Punishment: Decreases response rate and response causes a stimulus to be removed
No TV privileges or removal of class slides fro
 Superstitious BehaviorPeople often have rituals that they go through before a plane takes off the ground as a way to prevent it from crashing
Skinner argues that these rituals occur because people have been reinforced to do this
 Radical BehaviorismAll behavior is a result of its reinforcement history
John Watson argued that the observable behavior is the only valid indicator of psychological activity.
Behavior determined by the environment
 Observational LearningWatching others affects learning
Animals and children learn what is safe to eat, what to fear, and how to behave by watching parents and other role models
Bobo Doll Study
Study of aggression
Aggressive actions of adults were present in children when put around the doll
Gentle actions of adults shown in the non-aggressive behavior of children
No influence of adult showed mild aggression
 Developmental PsychologyA branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive and social change throughout the life span
 Developing PersonAs our bodies develop, we have basically all of the same parts; of course they change in size as we get older

The brain is not like the rest of the body. It does not begin as a “little adult brain” that merely needs to grow in size

We start with a brain that is fundamentally different from
how it will be later in life. We start with a brain that is actually “missingâ€
 Brain MaturityBrain maturity sets limits on psychological ability
Visual system is not fully functional at birth
Language system is not functional until much later
An infant’s abilities are linked to her state of brain development
 Brain DevelopmentDevelops from back to front
Brain stem and spinal cord are nearly fully organized and myelinated at birth
Midbrain and cerebellum begin myelinating just after birth
Last of all, the cerebral cortex matures (frontal lobe is not finished until the late teens)
 "Wiring up" of the BrainDevelop connections between different neurons
Technically referred to as “Synaptogenesis”; process of forming synapses with other neurons
New born's brain can compensate for brain damage since there are not many wired up parts
 Babinski ReflexFanning and curling toes when foot is stroked
 Moro ReflexThrowing the arms out, arching the back and bringing the arms together as if to hold onto something (in response to loud noise or sudden change in position of the head)
 Grasping ReflexCan grasp onto things
 Jean PiagetSwiss psychologist who became a leading theorist in the 1930's
Father of developmental psychology
 Piaget's Theory of Cognitive DevelopmentAll mental growth involves major qualitative changes as the child passes through several mental stages
Does NOT believe in continuous change -- Believes in a step-like process of development
Believed there were 4 developmental stages that differ in terms of how the world is understood
Criticism:
Infants and young children are more competent than recognized
Underestimates children's abilities
Development seems more like continuous than stage-like
 Sensorimotor StageBirth - 2 years old
*Information gained through senses and motor actions
*Child perceives and manipulates but does not reason
*Object permanence is acquired at around 6 months
Object Permanence: The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived; For young babies (typically under 6 months), when an object is no longer visible it ceases to exist
 Preoperational Stage2 - 7 years old
*Begin to represent world with language, mental imagery, and symbolic thought
*Lack of concept of conservation
The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms/shapes of objects
Ex. liquid poured into different sized container
* Egocentrism: Unable to take another's point of view
 Concrete Operational Stage7 - 12 years old
*Less egocentric
*Understand laws of conservation
*Inability to reason abstractly or hypothetically
Can use logic, but only when referring to concrete things
 Formal Operational Stage12 years old - adulthood
*Acquires logical reasoning. Children can think deeply about concrete events and can reason abstractly and hypothetically
 Habituation MethodNewborns become bored with a repeated stimulus, but renew their attention to a slightly different stimulus
Procedure:
Keep presenting the first object until the infant’s looking time drops
Now present a new object
If the difference is salient to the infant then looking time will increase
 Possible vs. Impossible EventsObject-Permanence reconsidered: 3 month olds appear to understand object constancy. This is the basis for their surprise in the video
Infants seem to understand the concept of gravity, knowing by 3 months that unsupported objects will fall and will not be suspended in space.
 Theory of MindPeople’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states- about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict
Ex. The child’s preferential looking at one bar or the other was influenced by the woman’s eye gaze.
Indicates that the child understands that another’s eye gaze is informative.
 "False-Belief Problem"Test a child's understanding that other people's beliefs are different from their own
Understanding the distinction between your self and everyone else
Includes awareness that what you know isn’t necessarily what others will know
Includes knowing that what you think is not necessarily public knowledge
 Language DevelopmentBefore 6 months we can hear phonemic differences that are used in all languages

After 6 months we begin to hear only differences that are used in our native language

We are born with the ability to recognize phonemes from all of the world’s languages. However, this ability quickly disappears.
 Babbling StageBiologically controlled part of acquiring language
Beginning at 3 to 4 months
The stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language
Babbling is an attempt to learn phonemes, not to get an object
Deaf children also babble in terms of partial signs
 One-Word StageFrom about age 1 to 2
The stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words to reach a goal/ obtain an object
 Two-Word StageBegins at age 2
The stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements
Learn 8 new words a day
 Language AcquisitionStages must go through in a certain order and mature along with the growth of their brain
 Explaining Language DevelopmentEmpiricism: All human thought and knowledge are acquired from sensory experience
Due to learning principles, such as reinforcement
Nativism: The idea that certain elementary ideas are innate to the human mind and do not need to be learned
Innate language-learning mechanism
Just as we become attuned to our language's phonemic structure, an analogous mechanism makes us attuned to our language's grammar
 The Wug TestJean Gleason created a test to determine whether children can apply the rules of grammar to unknown words
Children must infer grammatical rules, such as adding an "s" to make a plural, form listening to language
Supports Chomsky's nothing that we are genetically predisposed to learn grammar
 OvergeneralizationInappropriately adding "-ed" to make a past tense
E.g., saying “goed,” “thinked,” and “swimmed.”
Indicates that the child knows the rule about adding -ed to the end of a verb to create a past tense.
 Critical PeriodAn optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development
New language learning gets harder with age (age 8 onward)
Ex. Genie spent her first 14 years confined to a small bedroom and weighed just 59 pounds when discovered. She never learned to speak in complete sentences.
 Social DevelopmentThe changing nature of relationships with others over the life span
 AttachmentEvolution appears to have built an attachment system into children to drift towards their parents
 ImprintingThe process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life
Genetically predisposed to attach to our parents
 Harlow's Study of AttachmentInfant rhesus monkeys were placed with two surrogate mothers, one made of wire and one covered with soft cloth
Milk-producing nipple was attached to the wire-mesh mother
Monkeys preferred contact with the comfortable cloth mother, even while feeding from the nourishing wire mother
 Bowlby's Theory of AttachmentYoung mammals have competing needs for
safety exploration
Child will explore when it has a secure home base
 Ainsworth's Study of AttachmentMother-child interactions were observed in a playroom

Three different attachment styles:
Secure: Explores when mom is present; upset when she’s absent; seeks comfort at reunions (70%)
Anxious: Constant anxiety; clings to mom and does not explore much (10%)
Avoidant: Avoids mom/acts coldly to her throughout (20%)

A child’s attachment style appears to result from the interaction of the quality of the parenting and the childÃÂÂ
 Long-Term Effects of AttachmentSecurely attached children:
Tend to express emotions in an appropriate way.
Close relationships with peers

Insecurely attached children:
Tend to inhibit emotional expressiveness and not to seek comfort from other people
 Social PsychologyExamines the influence of social processes on the way people think, feel, and behave
 Foot-in-the-DoorTendency for people who have first agreed to a small, trivial request to comply later with a larger request
[Consistency-based persuasion]
 Door-in-the-FaceAchieve compliance by first making an outlandish request which is followed by a reasonable (and the desired) request (e.g., can you give $1000? Well, how about $10)
Hinges on the assumption of reciprocity
[Reciprocity-based persuasion]
 That's Not AllRequest (or offer) occurs in incremental pieces under the illusion of making a concession so as to increase compliance
If you put everything out on the table, people respond less therefore you should present in small amounts
[Reciprocity-based persuasion]
 Pique TechniqueFrame request in an unusual way to increase compliance by piquing interest. Designed to combat mindless/knee-jerk/automatic behavior
Want to jolt people out of their automatic way of behavior
Ex. When beggars ask for a random, unusual amount of change, they usually get it because people pay attention
[Script/Norm-based persuasion]
 Correspondence Bias/ Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)Tendency to overestimate dispositions (personality) as causes of behavior and underestimate situational influences
Bias is dominant
When we are explaining other people's behavior, we are biased to base off of their dispositions
Ex. Anti/Pro-Castro essays
Basic point: we rush to attribute actions to personality factors & don’t give situational forces the weight we should
 Actor-Observer BiasWhen evaluating someone else’s behavior we focus on his/her personality
When evaluating our own behavior we focus on the situation
We know our behavior changes from situation to situation, but we don’t know this about others
 Self-Serving Attributional BiasOur successes are due to our dispositions but our failures are due to our situation
We take credit for success but blame external causes for failures
 False Consensus EffectTendency to see one’s own choices and opinions as more common than they are
People think that the majority of other people will behave in the same way that they do
 Self-Esteem MaintenanceIt makes us feel better to think that we are part of the majority
 AccessibilityThe reasons for our construal of the event more readily come to mind. Alternative ways of construing the event are not as easily accessible
 AttitudesPredisposition to feel a certain way toward some people, group, or objects
Can be negative or positive
The media greatly influences us
 Cognitive DissonanceA discrepancy between an attitude/belief and our behavior leads to tension
Something must be changed to resolve the tension
Situation --> Behavior --> Attitude
Ex. Judgement Task Experiment
Lied and told next subject that the experiment was fun; paid $20 or $1; those who were paid $1 actually claim to have had fun (compensate)
Suggests that the more someone has to suffer to achieve something the more positive their attitude towards it will be
 The Forbidden Toy StudyChildren told not to play with attractive toy under threat of either mild or severe punishment. Then, the experimenter left the child alone
No child played with the toy
Child in mild threat condition rated the toy as less attractive than those in the severe threat condition
 StereotypesA schema about the personal attributes of a group of people
Ex. Blue/Brown Eyed people
Blue eyed children believed they were superior to Brown eyed children and turned into tyrants almost immediately
 Explicit StereotypeWhat we consciously think about a group
 Implicit StereotypeUnconscious mental associations guiding our judgments and actions without our conscious awareness

Direct measures of certain phenomena are often biased

Powerful prejudices that appear to be a product of our culture

Despite our conscious desires and beliefs to the contrary, we may still automatically respond in a way that reflects an underlying prejudice
 Devine's Automaticity TheoryStereotypes about groups of people, such as those based on gender, age, or race, are so prevalent in our culture that we all hold them to some extent

These stereotypes are automatically activated whenever we come into contact with someone from that group

Controlled processes are required to counteract the influence of these automatically activated stereotypes
 PrimingPreconceptions we have about social groups (i.e. stereotypes) get activated very quickly

We can detect the activation of these implicit associations by the degree to which we are primed to process words related to the stereotypical concepts.

Exposed students to words related to growing old - when subjects left lab they walked more slowly
 Implicit Association Test (IAT)Designed to measure implicit associations

IAT measures relative strength of association between pairs of concepts
E.g., Girl/female vs. Grandmother/male
E.g, Test unpleasant, young, pleasant, and old faces
Both old and young participants favored young

Mechanism: congruent pairs of items share the same response therefore will show faster response
 DeindividuationWhen someone is less accountable for their actions

Sense of reduced accountability and shifted attention away from the self that occurs in groups

Deindividuation and anonymity produces intimacy possibly because of fewer inhibitions

Experiment: Halloween study
Children took more candy when in a group and when they were anonymous
 Diffusion of ResponsibilityPresence of others leads to decreased help from others
We all think someone else will help, so we don’t
The greater the number of people who could potentially intervene, the less likely a victim was to be helpedâ€Ãƒƒ‚¦and the longer it took to get help
 Bystander NoninterventionNoticing: You can't help if you don't notice the problem (Sometimes used as an excuse)

Interpreting: Knowing that an ambiguous event requires intervention (Sunbathing or seriously ill?)

Pluralistic Ignorance: Other people's lack of a reaction is a cue that nothing is wrong (Run when others run)

Overcoming Diffusion of Responsibility: Singling out an individual (When someone you know is hurt, you react faster)
 New York Subway StudyCollapse on a subway car - 95% get immediate help
Common Fate: People riding together on a subway car (group working together)
No Escape: The problem is right in front of you and it is not easy to ignore
 ConformityA change in behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people
Other people can provide useful and crucial information
 Normative Social InfluenceDesire to be accepted as part of a group leads to that group having an influence
Asch's Experiment: Proved that even though a result could appear completely wrong to the subject, if confederates chose an answer incorrectly, they would also choose it (75%)
If one person disagrees, even if they give the wrong answer, you are more likely to express your nonconforming view
 Obedience to AuthorityPersonality view: There are evil people in the world, maybe even evil groups of people, such as the Nazis in World War II

More frightening possibility: Maybe everyone—you, me, our loved ones—has the capacity to act in evil ways, if subjected to certain kinds of social influences
 Stanley MilgramHis Obedience studies are some of the most important and most famous experiments in the history of psychology
Shock Experiment
Instructed subject to deliver increasing levels of shock to a learner who gives incorrect answers on test
No shock was actually given but subjects did not know this
Researchers expected 2% would go to the full shock labeled "XXX", but 65% actually went to the end
 PersonalityAn individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and interacting with the world
Stable properties that make your behavior predictable to others
 Sensation-Seeking PersonalitiesNeed varied and novel experiences
Willing to take physical and social risks for these experiences
 Freud's Psychodynamic ApproachProvides both an approach to therapy and a theory of personality

Emphasizes unconscious motivation - the main causes of behavior lie buried in the unconscious mind

Mind is like an iceberg and most of it is hidden from view

Focuses on unconscious motives and defenses against anxiety (wants to explain personality)
 ConsciousIn awareness now
Rational
Goal-directed thoughts
 UnconsciousA reservoir of unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories
The ugly contents of the unconscious are kept this way by repression
 IdStrives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives
Operates according to the pleasure principle
Find pleasure and avoid pain at whatever cost
Think of a screaming, spoiled child that never shuts up.
 SuperegoInternalization of society's moral standards for what we should be doing
Responsible for guilt
Purpose is to oppose the Id
 EgoMediator between id and superego
Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain
Think of a skilled baby-sitter doing his/her best to keep the screaming child (i.e., the Id) happy
 Defense MechanismsUnconscious mental processes employed by the ego to reduce anxiety
In other words, we strive to reduce anxiety by defending ourselves from certain kinds of knowledge
Five Kinds
Repression, Displacement, Sublimation, Projection, Rationalization
Occasional use of these is normal/ Neurotics are people with excessive unconscious conflict who use these mechanisms too much
 RepressionSuppresses anxiety-producing thoughts from consciousness
 DisplacementShifts unacceptable impulses toward a less threatening object or person
(e.g., after striking out, a baseball player may kick the water cooler)
 SublimationUnacceptable urges are channeled into socially acceptable activities
 ProjectionProject your own unacceptable urges onto others
A person who insists that everyone else is selfish
 RationalizationFabricate justifications to make it acceptable
 Trait TheoriesDescribe basic personality characteristics that are relatively stable over time and across situations
Personality is especially stable after age 30
Traits are independent of each other
Does not explain personality, but rather describes it central elements
 The Big Five Trait Theory [OCEAN]Agreeableness - Antagonism
Agreableness related to longevity, community involvement and negatively related to criminality
Extroversion - Introversion
Extroversion related to physical health
Conscientious - Undirected
Conscientiousness related to health-protective behavior
Neuroticism - Stability
Neuroticism related to criminality and morbidity.
Openness - Nonopenness
Openness related to creative/intellectual profession
 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests
Developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)
 Social-Cognitive PerspectiveFocus on differences in learned beliefs or thoughts that predispose people to react in particular ways
Personality is formed by interaction of cognitions and environments
Focuses on particular beliefs, such as perceived locus of control (explain personality)
 Reciprocal DeterminismThe interacting influences between personality and environmental factors
 External Locus of ControlThe perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate
 Internal Locus of ControlThe perception that one controls one’s own fate
 Birth Order and PersonalityFirst Borns: More responsible, ambitious, organized, disciplined, tempermental, anxious about status, assertive, dominant

Later Borns: More easy-going, trusting, accommodating, adventurous, prone to fantasy, untraditional, social, affectionate, excitement-seeking, self-conscious
 Sibling ContrastDifferences between siblings growing up in the same family may become exaggerated because siblings tend to define themselves as different from one another and to accentuate differences through behavioral choices
 Split-Parent IdentificationIn 2 parent homes, kids often are split as to who identifies more with which parent
 General Adaptation SyndromeSelye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress as composed of three stages
1. Alarm Reaction - Body reacts to stress
2. Resistance - Balance is temporarily re-attained
3. Exhaustion - Resources are depleted leading to illness or death
 Type A PersonalityNeed for activity, seeks high pressure environments, has trouble relaxing
Twice as likely to develop heart problems as Type BStree
 Type B PersonalityNo need for activity, seeks low pressure environment, takes time to unwind
 Stress and Heart DiseaseProlonged stress increases blood pressure and cholesterol levels - the two most important risk factors for heart disease
Type A personalities are especially vulnerable to feeling stressed and its effects
 The Medical Student's DiseaseThe overwhelming tendency to relate personally to, and find in oneself, the symptoms of any disease or disorder described in a textbook or lecture.
 Abnormal BehaviorAccording to the DSM-IV: a mental disorder is one that fulfills the following criteria:
Distress and impairment of functioning
Involuntary
Internal source
 Medical Perspective on Mental DisordersMental disorders as physical diseases
Multiple causes: brain abnormalities, birth difficulties, heredity
Important step in validating pathology as real illness and lifting it from suspicion of demonic possession and similar “lay” theories
 Biopsychosocial Perspective on Mental DisordersMental disorders are caused by an interaction of biological, psychological, & social factors
 Anxiety DisordersAnxiety and Fear are normal
Dysfunctional when:
Pervasive, persistent
Significant distress
Irrational & uncontrollable
 Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)Excessive uncontrollable worry about life events
Strong, persistent anxiety
Persists for 6 months or more
Interferes with normal functioning
4% of general population; Females outnumber males approximately 2:1
 Panic DisorderAbrupt experience of intense fear or discomfort
Accompanying physical reactions to the fear
Worry about another attack
Symptoms persist for at least 1 month
3.5% of general population; 2/3 with panic disorder are female
 Specific PhobiasExtreme and irrational fear of specific object/situation that is out of proportion to the danger posed by the object
Phobic object can cause a full-blown panic attack -- dizziness, difficulty breathing
Interferes with one's ability to function

Causes: Biological vulnerability (hereditary preparedness), past experience (e.g., conditioning)

5-8% of population (equal for both sexes)
 Subtypes of Specific PhobiaBlood-injury-injection
Situational– Transportation, enclosed places (e.g., planes)
Natural environment– Events occurring in nature (e.g., heights)
Animal– Animals and insects
Other phobias – e.g., fear of choking
 Social PhobiaDefining Features
Fear/shyness in social situations
Interferes with functioning
Avoids social situations
13% of population
 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)Obsessions - recurrent, persistent, and disturbing thoughts, images or urges that intrude into consciousness. The person recognizes that these ideas are irrational
Obsessions and Compulsions vary in severity
Compulsions - repetitive actions performed to suppress thoughts and provide relief.

1 - 3 % of population
 Mood DisordersDepression & Bipolar Disorder
Distressing and debilitating
 Major Depressive DisorderExtremely depressed mood state lasting at least 2 weeks

Symptoms (5 or more, including #1 and #2 within a 2 week period)
Sad, depressed mood
Loss of interest or pleasure in all activities
Appetite and weight change
Difficulties sleeping
Loss of energy, great fatigue
Feelings of worthlessness, negative self-concept
Difficulties concentrating
Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

Dissipates over time - Returns to normal in 6-8 months
 DysthymiaLess severe than MDD, but long-lasting depression
Lasts for at least 2 years
 Bipolar DisorderMood alternates from severe depression to extreme euphoria (mania)
Manics experience: elevated mood, increased activity, diminished need for sleep, grandiose ideas, extreme distractibility.
Average age of onset is 18. Between .6 and 1.1% of population will have a bipolar disorder
 Causes of Mental DisordersBiological (e.g., heritability)
Situational (e.g., stress)
Cognitive (e.g., thought patterns)
 Biological CauseMood disorders among twins
More likely to have a form of depression if your identical twin has it
Etiology: Multiple influences (bipolar appears to have a strong genetic component, depression has biological influences but much less)
 Situational CauseStrongly related to mood disorders
Positive correlation between stressful life events and onset of depression
Most depressogenic life events are losses
Spouse or companion
Long-term job
Health
Income
 Cognitive CauseAaron Beck: depressed people hold pessimistic views of
Themselves
The world
The future
Beck argues that depression is a thought disorder, instead of a mood disorder.
Depressed people distort their experiences in negative ways
Exaggerate bad experiences
Minimize good experiences
 Dissociative DisordersLiterally a dis-association from yourself or your memory
A complete repression of anxiety-provoking materials from consciousness.
This repression can cause a sudden unawareness of some aspect of the individual’s identity or history
 Dissociative AmnesiaSeparate the traumatic event from everything else
Memory loss is the only symptom
Often selective memory loss surrounding traumatic events
 Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)Originally known as "multiple personality disorder"
2 or more distinct personalities
Average number of identities ~ 15
Ratio of females to males is high (9:1)
Causes
Frequent histories of horrible child abuse
Highly suggestible
Mechanism to escape from impact of trauma
 PsychosisBroad term referring to hallucinations and/or delusions
 SchizophreniaA type of psychosis with disturbed thought, language, and behavior
Three clusters of symptoms
Positive: delusions and hallucinations
Negative: withdrawal, apathy, a lack or absence of normal behavior
Disorganized thoughts/speech

During a 1 month period, 2 (or more) of the following symptoms:
Delusions, Hallucinations, Disorganized speech, Grossly disorganized/ Catatonic behavior, Negative Symptoms

1% of population, affects males and females about equally
 "Positive" Symptom ClusterActive manifestations of abnormal behavior
Delusions (false beliefs)
‘They’re out to get me’ paranoia (e.g., Avoid the Noid example)
Being controlled (e.g., the CIA is controlling my brain with a radio signal)
Hallucinations (false perceptions)
Hearing things that aren’t there
 "Negative" Symptom ClusterAbsence or insufficiency of normal behavior
Spectrum of Negative Symptoms
Avolition (or apathy) – inability to initiate and persist in activities
Relative absence of speech
Anhedonia – lack of pleasure
Affective flattening – show little expressed emotion
 "Disorganized" Symptom ClusterDisorganized speech
Overinclusion - jumping from idea to idea without the benefit of logical association
Tangentiality -- responding in a tangential or irrelevant manner
Disorganized behavior -- behavior that is inappropriate for the situation
e.g., wearing sweaters and overcoats on hot days
Affect is inappropriately expressed
laughing at serious things, crying at funny things
 Genetic Cause of Schizo.The more related you are to a schizophrenic, the larger chance you have of developing it
50% chance in identical twins
 Biological Cause of Schizo.Drug therapy often works
Talk therapy does not work
Similar prevalence of schizophrenia across different cultures
Culture to culture traditions do not effect the chance of developing disease
 Environment Cause of Schizo.Mom has schizophrenia vs. No genetic history
Raised in a healthy adoptive environment vs. raised in a psychologically disturbed adoptive environment
In a healthy relationship, they were less likely to show mental disorder
 The Diathesis-Stress ModelDiathesis - Pre-disposition to a particular disorder
Stress - Environmental factors that increase the likelihood of a disorder appearing
You can have a pre-disposition to a disorder without ever manifesting it when there is no stress
 The Dopamine TheoryDrugs that reduce dopamine reduce symptoms
Drugs that increase dopamine produce symptoms even in people without disorder
Theory: Schizophrenia is caused by excess dopamine
 Schizophrenia PredictorsEarly warning signs
Nothing very reliable found yet
Certain attention deficits common to Sz can be found in children who are at risk for the disorder
 Rates of Mental Disorders50% of people between 15-54 have had at least some kind of disorder
HIghest frequency between ages 25 and 34
Most common disorders in the US population
Major depressive disorder ~ 17%
Social phobia ~13%
 Historical Views of Mental IllnessSymptom of demonic possession
Treatment:
Witch hunts, torture, hanging, burning
The dunking test: if woman did NOT drown then she was in league with the devil. If she did drown then she was not in league with the devil
 PsychotherapyTreatment involves a structured interaction between a client and a professional
Common Types
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Cognitive
Behavior
 Psychodynamic TheoryFreud thinks mental disorders result from inner mental conflicts, typically from some childhood experience.

Basic assumption: understanding and gaining insight about the conflict will resolve the mental disorder

Goal
Analyst’s job is to make inferences about patient’s unconscious conflicts
Once patient experiences them consciously, then he or she can modify and resolve them
 Methods to Psychodynamic TheoryFree association
Patient relaxes and reports everything that comes to mind
Dream analysis
Latent content
Mistakes
Slips of the tongue
 Humanistic TherapyAssumes that mental disorders are best treated by increasing awareness of motivations and needs.
Thinks that all actions are life promoting

Differences from psychodynamic approach
Does not focus on unconscious motivations
Nonjudgmental because inner feelings & desires are seen as positive & life-promoting

Goal: Resolve mental disorders by helping the client grow in self-awareness and self-acceptance
Make & take responsibility for life choices
 Carl Roger's Client Centered TherapyTherapist focuses on clients perceptions of him or herself in terms of desires and goals
Won't make inferences, just lets the client drive the session
"Unconditional Positive Regard"
Echoing what the patient has said in a positive light
 Cognitive TherapyAssume that our thinking influences our feelings
Only focused on cognitions that are seen to be maladaptive
Wants the patient to change self-defeating into self-serving on their own before it hurts them

Goal is to identify problematic styles of thinking (e.g., self-defeating thoughts) and to replace them with beneficial styles
Attribution retraining (self-serving bias)
 Maladaptive ThoughtsOvergeneralization: a negative event is viewed as a never-ending pattern of defeat

Discount the positives: accomplishments and successes “don’t count.”

Labeling and identifying with shortcomings: Instead of saying, “I made a mistake,” you tell yourself, “You’re a loser.”
 Treating Maladaptive ThoughtsIdentify the maladaptive thought or anxiety
Examine the evidence
E.g., when treating anxiety disorders: challenge irrational thoughts about danger, personal vulnerability & ability to tolerate anxiety
 Cognitive Techniques for Different DisordersRe-examine irrational appraisals of danger & coping skills:
Specific Phobias – examine likelihood/probability of outcome
GAD -- what is the utility of assuming the worst
Social Phobia – test thoughts re. negative evaluation from others
Panic & Agoraphobia – look at past attacks to consider probability
 Behavior TherapyUninterested in self-awareness
Relatively uninterested in possible underlying causes
Focus on and change observable behaviors via conditioning and other behaviorist methods
Methods: Exposure Treatments
Flooding, Systematic Desensitization (SD)
 FloodingForce patient to confront their feared object (put head in case of mice)
 Systematic Desensitization (SD)Treat an anxiety by pairing a relaxed state with a gradually increasing anxiety-provoking stimulus
 Comparing PsychoterapiesPeople report feeling better after therapy
Maybe they would have gotten better anyway with the passage of time
Studies show that people in therapy do better than no-treatment control groups

Different psychotherapies are effective for different problems. There is not a single “super-therapy” that is great for everything.
 Bio-Medical TherapyTreatment acts directly on the central nervous system
Attempts to solve the mental disorder by altering bodily processes
History
Drilling holes into head/ blood letting
Today
Directly alter the nervous system
Electric Convulsive Therapy/ Drug therapy
 Electroconvulsive Shock TherapyOriginated from observing that epileptics and people who suffer fever-induced convulsions are often NOT depressed
Goal of ECT is to induce a seizure similar to that experienced by epileptics; without the seizure ECT is ineffective
Used primarily in cases of severe, unrelenting depression
Causal mechanism is unclear, except that it involves the frontal lobes
60% people who don’t respond to other treatments get relief from ECT
 Drug Therapy1. Psychopharmacology
Generally safe & effective
Most popular bio treatment
Side effects
2. Antidepressant Drugs
Many work to increase the availability in the brain of certain neurotransmitters
Prozac makes the neurotransmitter, Serotonin, more available by inhibiting its reuptake by the presynaptic neuron
3. Anti-anxiety Drugs
Beta-blockers, such as Inderal, are very effective
Originally, a high-blood pressure medicine with the side-effect of causing serenity in stressful sit
 Medication Treatment for Schiz.Typical antipsychotic medication (e.g., Thorazine)
Reduces relapse rates
Motor side effects (shaking, problems controlling movements)
Problems
Drugs tend to relieve positive but not negative symptoms
Compliance: many patients fail to take drug
High rates of relapse
 Hospital's From a Patient's PerspectiveRosenhan (1973): "On being sane in insane places”
sane people got into mental hospitals as patients
found very low interaction with staff
dehumanizing nature of interactions
normal behaviors interpreted pathologically
 Main Approaches to Psychotherapy[Recap]
Biological - Mental illness understood as physical illness
Psychodynamic – Insight into unconscious motives & influence of past on the present
Humanistic – Make & take responsibility for life choices
Cognitive – Challenge and change maladaptive thoughts
Behavior – Change maladaptive behaviors
 Charles JohnsonBelieves that the Earth is flat
Flat Earth Society
Has a different belief than most other people, but while it might not be the norm, he believes it nontheless
 Beliefs33% Aliens have visited earth
50% ESP is real
40% Ghosts; Haunted houses
28% Communication with dead people

Bombarded by Claims everyday
 Cartesian View of BelievingStatement
Understand
Assess
Believe/Disbelieve
 Spinozan View of BelievingStatement
Understand & Believe
Assess
Believe/ Unbelieve

People are more like this
 Skurnik et al StudyPresent subjects with statements and an associated truth value
Delay 1 day
Memory Test
Cartesian would say that you are equally likely to choose true or false
Spinozan would say that most people would choose true (more likely to just believe)
 Selective Exposure: OpportunityPeople may feel like they know something due to the environment around them
Only exposing self to the people who the has the feeling to believe
Our friends believe what we believe
 Selective Exposure: AttentionPay attention to the information that supports our beliefs
 Selective Exposure: DisconfirmationUnlikely to prove what they think wrong
 Beliefs ReduxWe believe what we are told
Beliefs are easier to acquired than to lose
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Karma