PSYCH100: Final

types of drug therapies

antipsychotics, antidepressants, antianxiety drugs

antipsychotics

use chlorpromazine, a dopamine antagonist that blocks receptors in the brain

treats schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychotic episodes

side effects: drowsiness, dizziness, weight gain, dry mouth, tardive dyskinesia=involuntary movements

antidepressants

use tricylics, which increase the effect of serotonin and norepinephrine
EX: SSRIs (selective, serotonin, reuptake, inhibitors) - prozac, lexapro, paxil, zoloft block serotonin reuptake

antianxiety drugs

use benzodiazepines to treat anxiety
EX: xanax, valium

enhance GABAs (gamma-aminobutyric acid) which reduce neuron excitability

short term use

insight therapy

helps people gain knowledge about their inner thoughts + behavioral change

psychoanalysis techniques (sigmund freud)

free association: relax and discuss whatever comes to mind

dream analysis: desires of the unconscious

dreams: latent content: unconscious, manifest content: actual events

resistance: unconsciously motivated attempt to hinder therapy (inattentive, “forgetting” dreams, arguing)

transference: redirects feelings from people in their own life onto the therapist

psychodynamic therapy: a modern approach

cognitive therapy

changes maladaptive, conscious beliefs

“bad beliefs and interpretations cause bad symptoms”

rational-emotive therapy (cognitive, albert ellis)

challenge irrational beliefs through active and aggressive confrontations

beck’s cognitive therapy (cognitive)

therapist acts as a “co-investigator” to help the client come to conclusions on their own

hw: record thoughts and create rational responses

humanistic therapy

insight of self-worth, humans can fix their own problems and control their own behaviors

client-centered therapy (humanistic, carl rogers)

client holds the key to health and happiness, therapy offers unconditional positive regard

behavioral therapy

counterconditioning: conditioned and unconditioned stimulus and responses

systematic desensitization: gradually exposing to fears to reduce fear

aversion therapy: associating unwanted behaviors with unpleasant stimuli

CBT: changing perceptions

types of therapy

individual therapy, group therapy (support groups, structured interventions, open or closed), couples therapy, family therapy

consciouness

awareness of one’s internal and external states

brain and mind are inseparable

attention

the internal processes used to set priorities for mental functioning

attention is selective bc the resources of the brain are limited

dichotic listening studies

focusing on one ear results in poor processing of the other ear

can also result in switching sentence fragments, bc we dont completely ignore everything (treisman)

cocktail party effect

ability to focus attention on a specific sound while ignoring background noise

automaticity

fast and effortless processing that requires little or no focused attention

practice creates automaticity (playing a piano piece w/ no sheet music)

if the mind wanders, there’s decreased performance, but increased creativity

attention disorders

visual neglect: ignoring some things that occur on one side of the body (usually left side), caused by damage to right parietal lobe of cerebral cortex

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): difficulties in concentrating for long periods of time, strong genetic influence, diet too, low levels of dopamine, treatment: medication and behavioral therapy
subtypes: hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive, combined

circadian rhythms

biological activities that rise and fall in accordance with a 24 hour day

regulated by hypothalamus

light influence!

stages of sleep

alpha waves: relaxed state, slower/higher amplitude

N1-theta waves: drifting thoughts, irregular/lower amplitude

N2: sleep spindles-short bursts of brain activity and k complexes-triggered by external stimuli

N3-delta waves: synchronized, slow wave pattern “deep sleep”

rem (rapid eye movement): body is activated but fully asleep, heart rate increases and eyes move back and forth, dream time

sleep disorders

insomnia: difficulty falling or being asleep

hypersomnia: excessive sleepiness usually caused by sleep apnea

narcolepsy: extreme sleepiness entering rem directly sometimes

nightmares: frightening dreams during rem, can be related to mental health disorders and cause waking up

night terrors: waking up in panic, mainly in children during NON rem

sleep walking: gets up and wanders, mainly in children during NON rem

substance use disorder

drug that remains compulsive despite its negative consequences

drug tolerance

amount of drug increases to produce the same physical and behavioral effects

drug dependence

one experiences a physical and psychological need for continued use of a drug

withdrawal

physical reactions that occur when you stop using a drug
sweating, headache, vomiting, tremors

depressants

EX: alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, toxic inhalants

Mechanism: increasing GABA, decreasing acetylcholine

Side effects: calming effects, pain relief, slowed heart rate, and respiration

opiates

EX: opium, morphine, heroin

Mechanism: mimics endorphins

Side effects: slowing of many body functions, respiratory and cardiac depression, rapid development of tolerance

stimulants

EX: caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines

Mechanism: block dopamine/norepinephrine/serotonin reuptake

Side effects: enhanced mood and increased energy

hallucinogens

EX: marijuana, LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, PCP, peyote

Mechanism: mimic serotonin and epinephrine

Side effects: altered consciousness, hallucinations

habituation vs sensitization

habituation: getting “used” to a repeated event so declines in responsiveness

sensitization: increased responsiveness to a repeated event

classical conditioning (ivan p. pavlov)

procedures used to find out how organisms learn about the signaling properties of events

unconditioned stimulus vs. conditioned stimulus

unconditioned: observable responses w/ no prior training

conditioned: signal of the unconditioned stimulus

unconditioned response vs conditioned response

unconditioned: observable response w/ no prior training

conditioned: acquired response produced by the conditioned stimulus

rules of classical conditioning

• conditioned stimulus should be presented first

• unconditioned response should be presented quickly after conditioned stimulus

• conditioned stimulus must provide new information about the unconditioned stimulus

second-order/higher-order conditioning

needing two or more factors for a conditioned stimulus to create a conditioned response

Thorndike’s law of effect

behaviors that result in a positive outcome are more likely to be repeated while behaviors that result in a negative outcome are less likely to be repeated

operant conditioning

a procedure to study how organisms learn about the consequences of their own voluntary actions

pos/neg reinforcement and punishment

positive: adding/giving/gaining something
negative: taking away

reinforcement: increase behavior
punishment: decrease behavior

types of partial reinforcement

fixed-ratio: number of required responses is fixed (getting a bonus after selling x number of things)

variable-ratio: a varying number of responses are required (slot machine)

fixed-interval: reward is given for the first response after a set amount of time (getting paid every two weeks)

variable interval: reward is given for first response after a varied amount of time (fishing)

shaping

operant-conditioning that reinforces behaviors that are increasingly similar to desired behavior

observational learning

uses mirror neurons and you imitate a model (individual performing the behavior), especially if they have good qualities (Lebron)

modeling

learning from others
EX: bobo doll experiment

memory

the capacity to preserve and recover information

stages of memory processes (encoding, storage, retrieval)

encoding: forming memories

storage: storing memories

retrieval: recovering and translating memories into performance

sensory memory, how do we produce an exact replica of an environmental message

iconic: short lived image of a visual sensation

echoic: audio information as the brain processes sound

interference

short term memory is lost by interference of new information

chunking

arranging incoming information into meaningful or familiar patterns (te acu pse t)

long term memory

there are theoretically no limits to what we can remember (pi memorizing)

information must be encoded to later retrieve it

elaboration: actively relating new information to already stored long-term memory (u do this all the time in bio!!)

types of memory

episodic: events, personal

semantic: facts, knowledge about the world, not personal

procedural: how to do things (like riding a bike)

remembering without awareness (explicit vs implicit memory)

explicit memory: conscious remembering, hippocampus

implicit memory: unconscious remembering like our friends, neocortex+striatum

*both use retrieval cues

decay theory

memories fade over time

retroactive interference: new memories replace some recovery of old memories
proactive interference: old memories interferes with recovery of new memories

forgetting

inability to retrieve memory from long-term storage

occurs rapidly over first few days and then levels off

free vs. cued recall

free recall: recall without retrieval cues

cued recall: recall after receiving retrieval cues

amnesia

forgetting caused by physical problems in the brain like injury or disease

retrograde vs anterograde amnesia

retrograde: memory loss that occurred prior to the injury

anterograde: memory loss that occur after the injury; implicit memory is usually still in tact

where are memories stored?

HIPPOCAMPUS!!

thinking

processes that underlie the mental manipulation of knowledge and ideas

cognition

all activities that underlie forms of thought

linguistic relativity hypothesis (how does language relate to thought?)

language influences how we think and how we perceive the world, but doesn’t completely determine thought

EX: masculine/feminine of an item

structure of language key words

grammar: rules that allow words to be combined in sentences
phonology: combining sounds to make words
syntax: combining words to make sentences
semantics: rules used to convey meaning

morphemes: smallest lang. units that have meaning, including suffixes and prefixes
phonemes: the basic sounds of speech

surface vs deep structure language

surface: literal order of words in a sentence
deep: underlying meaning of a sentence

language comprehension

ability to derive meaning from written oral language

factors: past knowledge, shared knowledge, anticipate words (top-down processing)

aphasia

difficulty coming up with (broca’s area) and comprehending language (wernicke’s area)

patterns of language development when growing up

3-5 weeks: cooing

4-6 months: babbling

1 yo: first word

2 yo: telegraphic speech “want milk”

3+ yo: full sentence

categories

a class of objects. can share defining features

family resemblance

core feature that all categorical members share

prototype vs category exemplar

prototype: the most representative

category: specific examples of category members that are stored in long-term memory

mental set

tendency to rely on past, successful problem solving strategies

heuristics

rules of thumb to solve problems but do not offer a gauranteed solution

confirmation bias

tendency to seek out information that confirms a priori decision or belief

availability heuristic

over reliance on easy to access information because it is recent, frequent or stands out

representativeness heuristic

mental shortcut used to make judgments about someone/something

EX: assuming people with tattoos are dangerous

anchoring heuristic

rely heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions or estimates. initial information=anchor

intelligence

an internal capacity that accounts for individual differences in mental performance, an ability that enables us to adapt to changing environments

theories of intelligence

psychometric: how people perform on standardized psychological tests (spearman)

hierarchal models of intelligence: 7 primary mental abilities (verbal, numbers, memory, reasoning, speed etc.) (thurstone)

fluid vs. crystalized: based on genetics vs acquired through experience (cattel & horn)

multiple intelligences: musical, body, logical, spatial, etc. and testing with case studies (gardner)

triarchic: analytical, creative, and practical (sternberg)

achievement tests

measure current level of knowledge; psych 100 exams

aptitude tests

measure ones ability to learn a subject
EX: SAT

intelligence quotient (IQ)

iq=mental age/chronological age *100

deviation IQ

an intelligence score that shows your IQ on an age-based distribution of test scores

<70 score = intellectual disability (>130 is gifted)

must be diagnosed before 18

causes: down syndrome, lack of nutrition

savants

have tremendous ability in one domain

pros and cons of labeling individuals based on their IQ

pros: personalized education, identifying giftedness, targeted support

cons: stigma and bias, limited scope, self fulfilling prophecy, misuse, narrow focus

the flynn effect

iq on average is scoring higher per generation

motivation

set of factors that initiate and direct behavior, usually towards a goal

emotions

psychological events=>physiological reaction, expressive reaction, subject experience

instinct theory of motivation

motivation is driven by innate instincts but psychologists debate on this

drive reduction theory of motivation

drive: internal state that arises in response to a need like homeostasis

incentive theory of motivation

external rewards like money and good grades have a pulling effect on behavior

achievement motivation: an internal need to succeed

more motivation = better retaining info, learning, seeking challenges
want to outperform = concerned about errors, miss learning opportunities

culture influences achievement (gender, society)

intrinsic motivation

goal directed behavior that is entirely self-motivated

introducing rewards can actually reduce the frequency of behavior bc it is an indirect way of being controlled

abraham maslow’s hierarchy of needs

human desire to elevate one’s self

cons: hard to define and measure, and why can’t we seek two needs at once

what controls hunger?

glucose: blood-sugar level

ghrelin: increases before eating and reduces after eating

satiation signals: reduce the desire to eat such as CCK cholecystokinin

leptin: high levels→obesity, low levels→less fat

insulin: from pancreas
body fat→cells become less responsive to insulin→high insulin→higher risk of type 2 diabetes

external factors: eating habits, culture, food cues

brain ares important for hunger

hypothalamus: sensitive to leptin and insulin, so if it is destroyed→overeat, stimulated→undereat

hindbrain: integrates info from body to hypothalamus, important for starting to eat

hippocampus: memory about food intake

factors behind body weight

genetic predisposition

set point: natural body weight that the body maintains

metabolic rate

obesity

prolonged exposure to high fat diets can change the brain and inflame brain structures that indicate fullness

factors: genetics, metabolic rate, set point, number of fat cells, eating habits, culture, stress, lack of access, eating disorders

eating disorders

anorexia nervosa: restricting food intake and fear of weight gain

bulimia nervosa: cycles of binge eating and purging

binge eating disorder: bing eating w/o purging

health problems:

ceasing of menstruation, low blood pressure, loss of bone density, gastrointestinal problems, organ failure, high mortality rates

intestinal damages, nutritional problems, tooth decay

obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems, sleep problems

sexual response cycle

excitement: muscle tension, increased HR and BP, blood to genital organs

plateau: arousal increases (erection,vaginal lubrication)

orgasmic: rhythmic contractions, ejaculation

resolution: arousal returns and refractory period for men stops further arousal

sexual scripts/mate selection

learned processes that teach us what to do in our interactions with sexual partners

EX: differences between sex, financial stability for women

external factors influence sexual behavior

attraction stimulates sexual drive, physical touch, and body odor

theories of emotions

common sense: perception of a stimulus elicits emotion and body arousal

james-lange: emotions arise from physiological arousal. heart pounding → fear

cannon-bard: physiological arousal and emotions occur simultaneously, yet independently. fear and heart happens at the same time

Schachter and Singer Two-factor theory: physical changes → labeling changes based on our understanding of the situation around us