Psychology Unit 2

Biological Rhythm

Internal consistent process of biological activity

Circadian Rhythm

Biological rhythm that regulates your sleep

Melatonin

A hormone that helps you sleep

Homeostasis

Internal balance in your body

Jet Lag

When your circadian rhythm & environment don't match

Sleep Debt

When you don't get enough sleep on a chronic basis, it starts to add up

Sleep Deprivation

When all your sleep debt adds up

Sleep Deprivation Symptoms

S.A.D., depression, weight gain, weaker immune system, slower reaction time

Beta Waves

Brainwaves when you're awake

Stage 1 of Sleep

A transitional phase where you're drifting off; your brainwaves move from beta waves to alpha waves

Hypnagogic Sensation

Falling sensation your body has during Stage 1

Stage 2

Deep relaxation stage, fully asleep

Sleep Spindle

Brainwaves in Stage 2

Stage 3

Deep sleep, brain produces delta waves

Stage 4 / REM Sleep

Deepest form of sleep where dreams happen, brainwaves go back to beta waves

Voluntary Muscle Paralysis

Your body paralyzes itself when you're dreaming

What was Freud's view on dreams?

Used dreams to access the unconscious mind

Manifest Content

Actual storyline of the dream

Latent Content

Hidden meaning behind the dream

Who was Carl Jung?

One of Freud's students, 2nd most important psychoanalyst, didn't believe in sexuality

What did Carl Jung believe?

Collective Unconsciousness - a universal consciousness that is shared by all people and is passed down by our ancestors

Insomnia

When you have consistent difficulty falling or staying asleep; to actually be diagnosed, you have to have symptoms 3 nights a week for a month

Sleep Apnea

When you stop breathing while you are sleeping

CPAP Machine

An oxygen mask worn while sleeping

Narcolepsy

When someone falls asleep all the time

Parasomnias

A group of disorders where unwanted activity is happening while sleeping

Sleepwalking

When someone engages in complex behaviors while sleeping, most common in young boys, and the process happens in Stage 3

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

When someone does not experience muscle paralysis during REM sleep

Restless Leg Syndrome

When people have a weird crawling sensation on their legs while sleeping

Night Terrors

When someone has a panic attack while sleeping

Sleep Paralysis

When you wake up during REM sleep before the muscle paralysis goes away

Tolerance

Needing more and more of a drug to get the same effect

Withdrawal

Negative symptoms that happen when someone stops using a drug, usually the opposite of the drug's effects

What is the difference between tolerance and withdrawal?

Tolerance is needing more of the drug for the same effect; withdrawal is what happens when you stop using it

Depressants

Drugs that slow down the central nervous system

Examples of Depressants

Alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines such as Xanax

Effects of Depressants

Relaxation and lowered inhibitions at low doses; high doses can cause sleep, memory loss, slowed breathing, and death

Stimulants

Drugs that increase overall neural activity

Examples of Stimulants

Cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, MDMA, nicotine, and caffeine

Effects of Stimulants

Increased alertness, energy, heart rate, and blood pressure; high doses can cause agitation, paranoia, and hallucinations

Opioids

Drugs that decrease pain and can produce feelings of euphoria

Examples of Opioids

Heroin, morphine, methadone, codeine, fentanyl, and oxycodone

Major Danger of Opioids

High doses can slow breathing enough to cause death

Hallucinogens

Drugs that cause major changes in sensory and perceptual experiences

Examples of Hallucinogens

Marijuana, LSD, peyote, mescaline, DMT, ketamine, and PCP

Effects of Hallucinogens

Changes in perception, hallucinations, altered body sensations, and a distorted sense of time

What is Hypnosis?

A state of extreme self-focus and attention where very little attention is given to outside stimuli

Sensation

When sensory information is detected

Perception

How you interpret sensory information

Absolute Threshold

Minimum amount of sensory stimulation you need to notice something 50% of the time

Subliminal Messages

Information presented below conscious awareness; your brain receives it, but you don't realize it

Bottom-Up Processing

When sensory information in the environment triggers perception; things are happening outside of you

Top-Down Processing

When your knowledge triggers perception; things are happening inside of you

What is the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing?

Bottom-up starts with sensory information from the environment; top-down starts with your existing knowledge

Sensory Adaptation

When you don't perceive something as well as before because you're used to it

Inattentional Blindness

When you don't notice something because you're focused on something else

Pupil

A black hole in the center of your eye where light enters

Lens

Behind the pupil, disk that helps your eyes focus

Retina

The back wall of the eye

Cones

The receptor cells that help you see during the daytime & help you see color, inside the fovea

Rods

Receptor cells that help you see in the dark

Optic Chiasm

Where the optic nerves cross

Blind Spot

A spot where the optic nerve exits the eye

Outer Ear

The outer part of the ear

Auditory Canal

The tunnel into your ear

Tympanic Membrane

Eardrum

Cochlea

Snail-shaped structure in the inner ear where the hair cells are

Hair Cells

Auditory sensory cells

Deafness

The inability to hear

What is a common treatment for deafness?

Cochlear implant - an electronic device that helps you hear by stimulating the auditory nerve

What are the 5 taste groups?

Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami

Congenital Analgesia

A rare genetic disorder where someone can't feel pain

What is Cognition?

The process of thinking

Thinking

Perception, knowledge, judgment, memory, problem-solving, language, & other things

Concepts

Categories of information

Complex Concepts

Abstract ideas, ex. "What is my purpose?"

Basic Concepts

Random categorical concepts

Universal Concepts

A cultural norm

Individual Concepts

Concepts that relate only to you

Prototype

The best representation of a concept that you have in your mind

Natural Concept

A concept that develops naturally through your life experience

Schema

A mental script in the mind

Role Schema

A cognitive script that gives you assumptions about how someone in a certain role will act

Event Schema

Helps determine specific behaviors in an event or situation

Single Intelligence

The idea that intelligence is composed of one thing

Charles Spearman

Believed in G-Factor

G-Factor

You either do or don't have intelligence

Collective Intelligence

Believed G-Factor was broken down into two components: Crystallized & Fluid

Raymond Cattell

Figure of Collective Intelligence

Crystallized Intelligence

Your ability to learn new information & remember it

Fluid Intelligence

Ability to solve problems

What is IQ?

Intelligence Quotient - a score on a test designed to measure intelligence

Dysgraphia

Struggle to write

Dyslexia

Struggle to process letters

Dyscalculia

Struggle to understand basic math

Self-Reference Effect

You're more likely to remember something that relates to you

Short-Term Memory

A temporary storage system that lasts about 15–30 seconds

Long-Term Memory

Continuous storage of information with a capacity believed to be unlimited

What is the difference between short-term and long-term memory?

Short-term memory temporarily holds information for about 15–30 seconds; long-term memory stores information continuously

Equipotentiality Hypothesis

If part of a brain area involved in memory is damaged, another part of the same area can take over that memory function