Elementary Psych Exam 2

What is Sensation?

Processing of basic information from external world by sensory receptors in the sense organs

Taste

Chemicals dissolved in saliva

Smell

Chemicals in air

What is perception?

Organizing, identifying, and interpreting sensory information

Difference between sensory and perception?

We perceive the world, our senses only encode pieces (paining e.x.)

Absolute Threshold

The weakest signal you can detect about half the time

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

the smallest change you can notice half the time

Adaptation

when something stays the same, you stop noticing it

Elementary tastes

1. sweet

2. salty

3. sour

4. Umami or “savory”

5. bitter

“lock-and-key”

each receptor on tongue has a tiny “lock” protein only certain chemicals “key” fit into lock (“fit” = signal/spike to brain)

What else uses “lock-and-key” to detect specific items?

Olfactory receptors

elementary taste vs “taste”

elementary taste refers to receptors but “taste” we usually talk about is a mental experience

What can our experience of flavor be affected by?

all the senses

where is primary olfactory cortex located?

the anterior temporal lobe

what is the olfactory strongly connected too?

amygdala and hippocampus, forming strong memories and emotional responses of odors

Skin is filled with what?

sensory receptors that send “neural spike” to the brain

when squeezed

pressure sensors

when pulled

stretch sensors

why is consciousness interesting?

to be “conscious” is to be more than a “mechanism” (to “feel something”)

Why is consciousness hard?

even if we study every neuron and behavior, we. still wouldn’t know why it “feels like something” to be you

Why is it not impossible?

we can only directly know our own experiences (introspection), but we assume others have similar experience

how to study consciousness?

compare different states

what states can be compared?

focused vs distracted, awake vs asleep, healthy vs impaired

what do these states differ in?

feelings (experience), decisions, behavior

Big-C Consciousness

feelings + decisions + behavior

Little-C Consciousness

just behavior (what scientists can measure)

Rene Descartes (1600s)

mind and body are separate, brain can be studied but mind cannot

William James (1800s)

psychology = study of conscious experiences (used introspection)

Sigmund Frued (1900s)

most of the mind is unconscious, hidden thoughts affect behavior

Problem with these

these ideas relied on introspection and and gave different answers with no clear way to test them

Behaviorism (1920-1960)

rejected studying the mind and focused only on observable behavior

Cognitive revolution (1960+)

brought the mind back to science by studying behavior and build models of how the mind works

Antonio Damasio

showed brain damage changes in behavior and experience, mind and brain are closely linked

Consciousness

what you are aware of

Unconsciousness

mental processes happening without you realizing it

Perception

unconscious interference , brain is constantly guessing/interpreting the world

unconscious mind

lots of thinking happens automatically without awareness

subliminal perception

something affects you even if you don’t consciously see it

the mirror test

is a psychological test used to measure self-awareness in animals and humans, where an individual is marked and then observed to see if they recognize themselves in a mirror.

attention

a mental process that selectively devotes more mental energy to some things than others

What can attention change?

experiences and measurable behavior (what we remember seeing)

what is attention like?

a spotlight, highlighting certain things

what is attention closely linked to?

consciousness, affects our experiences and affected by our choices

Inattentional blindness

missing something because you weren’t focusing on it

Change blindness

not noticing when something changes

Wandering awareness

your brain can do familiar tasks (like walking or driving) without much attention

automaticity

doing things automatically without thinking

what’s the cost of multitasking?

when you do two things at once, you get worse at both, even if the tasks are easy or you think you’re “good” at multitasking

why do humans (and other animals) sleep?

no uniformly accepted answer

some speculative ideas

1. conserve and restore view

2. preservation

3. memory consolidation

conserve and restore view

conserve energy and restore body

perservation

stay safe (away from predators)

memory consolidation

build better memories and help mental function

circadian rythms

a regular, 24 hr pattern of bodily arousal

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

daily cycle of fatigue, arousal, and alertness is governed by SCN in hypothalamus

SCN has a…

“neural clock”, circadian rhythms can occur without light

sleep helps your body..

work properly, no sleep = performance gets worse

during sleep your body:

repairs and restores tissues and boost your immune system

Your brain also:

rebuild energy (glycogen) and may reset overworked neurons

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

measure “brain waves”, your brain is still active during sleep

different stages of sleep

stage 1, 2, 3, REM sleep

Stage 1

shallow sleep (sporadic “theta” wave bursts

Stage 2

deeper, mixed brain activity

Stage 3

deep sleep; delta waves (slow steady pulsing)

REM Sleep

toward end of 90 minute cycle (brain looks most like “awake”)

during REM sleep…

eyes move quickly, heart and breathing speed up, body muscles temporarily paralyzed

unihemispheric sleep

shown in some animals (e.g., dolphins, birds) sleep with half their brain at a time

dreams

sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts. sometimes vivid and storylike

what did Sigmund Freud say about dreams

dreams are the “royal road to the unconscious” meaning dreams come from your mind not the outside world

manifest content

what you actually see in the dream “candy coating”

Latent content

the hidden meaning “nasty stuff”

Activation-Synthesis hypothesis

a modern idea of dreaming, during REM sleep your brain randomly replays memories and these signals activate parts if your brain and mind trying to make sense of them —> creating dreams

can people solve problems in dreams?

rare but could happen

hypnosis

a human condition involving focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion

Franz Anton Mesmer

claimed he could heal people with “magnetic forces” (pseudoscience)

Scientists including Benjamin Franklin tested Franz Theory. Result =

no real magnetic force, but people still felt better (placebo)

Placebo effect

belief can change how you feel

James Braid

Doctor who read scientific literature and coined the term "hypnotism" describing it as a mental state that can affect thoughts, feelings, and the body

Hypnosis Misconceptions

not magic - magic is in your mind, willing and cooperative state

hypnosis used in therapy to help with:

pain management, anxiety, depression, sleep

no evidence in hypnosis helping:

age regression, previous lives, uncover forgotten memories

psychological effects of hypnosis:

relaxed awake state, normal heart rate and breathing

behavioral effects of hypnosis:

overly focused attention, sensory inputs are not blocked

Experience of hypnosis:

extreme focus, similar to meditation or trances

can you be unwillingly hypnotized?

no

Hypnotic susceptibility

how easily someone can be hypnotized

people more likely to be hypnotized tend to:

get deeply absorbed in music/movies, have vivid imagination/daydream, and easily “get into” experiences

psychoactive drug

chemical that alters consciousness and/or behavior

drugs interfere with the way neurons communicate with…

neurotransmitters

all drugs affect a specific neurotransmitter across the entire brain but…

different neural circuits use different neurotransmitters, so different drugs affect different brain regions

changing one chemical can ripple through the brain causing…

some circuits to become overactive and others underactive

most chemicals affect the body, but few can…

affect the brain without being toxic

Blood-brain barrier

protects the brain from unwanted chemicals by having thick walls and tightly packed cells

only small molecules like ____, ___, ___, ___, and ____, can pass through

oxygen, CO2, water, salt, glucose

Stimulants (caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines)

speed up body and brain activity (increase arousal, heart rate, spikes in neurons)

Depressants (alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines)

slow down body and brain activity (lower arousal, fewer neural spikes)

Narcotics (heroin, morphine, methadone, codeine)

strongly reduce pain (high doses can stop heart or breathing)

psychedelics or “hallucinogens” (LSD, mescaline, ketamine)

change perception of reality

Marijuana

make time feel slower, increase hunger, affects multiple brain circuits

general anesthetics

turn consciousness off safely for surgery