PSYCH EXAM UNIT 1

Critical + Sensitive periods & how they Impact dment

* **critical:** a specific period in dment when an organism is most vulnerable to deprivation/absence of certain enviro. exp.

→ will not recur at later stage → can have permanent/irreversible effect on develop

\
* **sensitive:** a period of time during dment when an organism is more responsive/sensitive to certain types on enviro exp./learning

→ windows of opp. for learning ‘ (EG learning native language in this period is up to 12 yrs, window gradually closing from age 7).

Harlow’s theory -attachment

* **Wire Surrogate Mother vs Cloth Surrogate Mother**

to find out whether provision of food or contact comfort was more important in formation of mother-infant attachment.

\
→ 8 newborn rhesus monkeys separated from mothers after birth.

\- Grp 1: 4 isolated in cage where cloth mother provided food and wire mother didn’t.

\- Grp 2: ““ wire mother provided food and cloth mother didn’t.

→ Result: all monkeys spent more with cloth surrogate mother → contact comfort over food

\
→ also found that privation was as important in attachment through

* Exp 2: Deprived rhesus monkeys from Social Contact.

\
→ Taken from mothers after birth.

\- Grp 1 - isolated 3 mths

\- Grp 2 - 6 mths

\- Grp 3 - 12 mths

→ Result: More destructive, withdrawn and unable to relate socially the longer they were isolated.

\
* Privation - involves absence of the opportunity to satisfy something that is needed/desired (social contact in this case)

Ainsworth’s theory -attachment

* the strange situation: a standardised test for measuring attachment relo a child has with caregiver.

→ infant and caregiver taken into unfamiliar room before infant is exposed to series of sep. and reunions involving infant, caregiver, and stranger.

→ found that infants can form diff. types of attachments w caregiver. - varies on who strong connection is.

Types of Attachment (Ainsworth’s theory cont.)

* **Secure Attachment**: infant shows balance between dependence and exploration.

→ able to feel safe and depend on caregiver.

\
* **Insecure Avoidant Attachment:** infant doesn’t not seek closeness or contact w caregiver and treats them like a stranger.

\
* **Insecure Resistant Attachment:** infant appears anxious even when caregiver is near.

→ become upset when separated from cg, re-establishes contact upon reunion but then resists contact after.

\
* **Disorganised Attachment:** shows inconsistent/odd and contradicting behaviours during sep. from and reunion w caregiver.

→ no reaction to caregivers’ return etc, or cries when cg leaves but also when cg returns

types of plasticity (Experience-Dependent & Experience-Expectant)

* **Experience Dependent:** involves brain change that modifies some part its neuronal structure that is already present.

→ depends on exposure to various environmental experiences unique to each indiv. & may occur at any time during the life span.

\
* **Experience Expectant:** involves brain change in response to environmental experience that is ordinarily expected.

Case studies

* an in-depth investigation of some behaviour, event or problem of interest in a single individual, group, organisation or situation.

→for scientific research purposes often used when large no. of participants are not available for an investigation.

\
* Pros:

\-  useful way of obtaining detailed information when large no. of people can’t be accessed.

\- can avoid artificiality and provide a ‘snapshot’ of actual/real-life experience of indivs. at particular time/situation.

\- useful for tracking + describing experiences & change over time. → can be conducted over a prolonged period

\- valuable source of hypotheses for further research/data on theory

\
* Cons:

\- cannot test or establish a cause–effect relationship

\- small sample size → (case studies focus on rare/unusual indivs, situations etc) tentative and limited support for drawing conclusions.

\- can’t be generalised to others in relevant population (involve rare or unusual disorder/ability).

\- painstaking and time-consuming → detailed + comprehensive

\- susceptible to biased information from the participants or the researcher. → influence accuracy.

\- usually conducted by one researcher → possible bias

Research methods

* **Aims:** a statement outlining the purpose of the investigation.

\
* **Sample:** the subset or part of the population that is selected for a research investigation

→ **Sampling**: process of selecting participants from a population of research interest

\
* **Population:** the entire group of research interest from which a sample is drawn

\
* **Hypothesis:** a testable prediction of the relationship between two or more variables (events/characteristics).

\
* **Variables:** something that can vary in amount or type and is measurable

**→Independent variable**: variable that is manipulated (cause).

**→Dependent variable:** variable that is used to observe & measure the effects (effect).

**→ Controlled variable:** variable that is considered to have an effect on the DV in an experiment (constant).

→ **Operationalising**: how variables will be manipulated as measured

Controlled experiments

* Experimental investigation to test the relo between indep. & dep. variable, whilst controlling all other variables

→ Experimental group = exposed to IV

→ Control group = not ^

Experimental designs (controlled experiments cont.)

* **Between subjects design:** participants randomly allocated to one of two (or more) groups/conditions & provides one score for data analysis


* **Within subjects:** each participant take part in both the experimental & control groups (all the treatment conditions if no control group)

\
* **Mixed design**: combines features of both between subjects design and within subjects design.

→ can assess differences between two or more separate groups of participants (ibetween subjects),

& the change in the indiv. members of each group over time (within subjects).

Neurodivergence/Neurodiversity

* used to describe people whose neurological dm & cognitive functioning are atypical and deviate from what is considered normal/typical in the population.

\
→ indivs diagnosed w intellectual disability (eg learning disabilities) may be described as neurodivergent

Nature (hereditary) v Nurture (environment) debate

* A debate whether heredity (nature) or environment (nurture) determines how we develop.

→ Nature refers to how genetics influence an individual's personality,

→ Nurture refers to how their environment (including relationships and experiences) impacts their development.

Piaget’s theory - Stages of Cog. Dment.

* suggests that children move through 4 diff stages of learning in cog. develop:

\

1. Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 yrs)

infants explore & learn about the world through senses and motor activities

→ develops:

* object permanence (understanding object exists if they can’t be seen, heard or touched),
* goal directed behaviour (perform & complete seq of actions w purpose)

\

2. Pre-operational stage (2 - 7 yrs)

children become increasingly able to mentally rep. objects & experiences. (to think abt & imagine something)

→ develops:

* symbolic-thinking (use of symbols to rep objects)
* egocentrism (tendency preceives world solely from one’s pov)
* animism (belief that everything that exists has consciousness)
* transformation (understanding one thing can change from one state/form to another)

\


3. Concrete operational stage (7 - 12 yrs)

capable of true logic and thoughts & can perform mental operations - however, only applied to concrete objects/events

→ develops:

* mental operations (ability to accurately imagine conseqs. of something happening w/o it needing to happen)
* conservation (understanding that certain properties of object can remain same if appearance changes)
* classification (ability to organise into categories based on common ft.)

\

4. Formal operational stage (12 yrs+)

more complex thought process is evident and thinking becomes more sophisticated.

→ develops:

* abstract thinking (way of thinking that doesn’t rely on able to see, visualise, exp. or manipulate in order to understand)
* idealistic thinking (ability to realistically think abt future & what is possible, then make plans to achieve goals)

CTE

* A progressive brain degeneration and fatal condition thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head/repeated episodes of concussion.

\
* Symptoms:

**→loss of memory**

**→mood/personality changes**

→difficulty controlling impulsive or erratic behaviour

→increasing confusion and disorientation

**→difficulty thinking - making decisions, impaired judgements**

**→motor impairments - tremor, slow movement, slurred speech**

\
* Diagnosis:

Cannot be diagnosed in a living person, only during an autopsy → diagnosis is based on a history of contact sports, symptoms, repeated concussions

→ Autopsy may show atrophy of the brain/build up of tau protein that interferes with the functioning of neurons.

\
* Research:

CTE is not very well understood and it an emerging area of research

→uncertain about the no. & types of head injuries that increase the risk of CTE.

→not all athletes who experience repeated concussions develop CTE - has been diagnosed in people without a history of brain injuries.

→contribution of confounding variables (*e.g. genetic predisposition, alcohol/drug use, co-existing dementia*) is not accounted for in research.

ABI

* A brain injury acquired after birth → used to differentiate between brain injury from neurodevelopment disorders that people are born with

→ Can have sudden or insidious onset

\
* Bio changes:

→movement disorders

→dizziness and balance problems

→eyesight, hearing problems

→impaired speech, reading, writing,

→fatigue and sleep problems

→hormonal imbalances

\
* Psycho changes:

→memory problems

→difficulty problem-solving

→poor concentration and attention

→reduced ability to organise and plan

→lack of insight and awareness, and poor judgment

→personality changes

→mood disturbance, e.g. irritability, anger

\
* Social changes:

→social isolation, e.g. difficulties in making and keeping friends

→disrupted family relationships

→different educational opportunities

→financial hardship

→legal restrictions

→social stigma

Wernickes and Brocas areas

* **Wernickes area** (Temporal lobe): speech comprehension
* **Brocas area** (Frontal lobe): speech production

Lobes of the brain

* Frontal lobe:

**→Prefrontal cortex**: occupies most of the frontal lobe, involved with sophisticated mental abilities (reasoning, planning, problem solving), personality and regulation and expression of emotion

**→Primary motor cortex**: initiates and controls voluntary movements

**→Broca’s area**: speech production

\
* Parietal lobe:

**→Primary somatosensory cortex**: receives and processes sensory information from the skin and body parts.

\
* Occipital lobe:

**→Primary visual cortex**: processes visual sensory information

\
* Temporal lobe:

**→Primary auditory cortex:** receives and processes sound → different areas are specialised to identify different sounds

**→Wernicke’s area:** speech comprehension

Sprouting and Rerouting

* **Sprouting:** creation of new connections between neurons, or nerve cells. → new & stronger connections between neurons


* **Rerouting:** creation of an alt. neural pathway by re-establishing damaged neurons & forming a new pathway between active neurons. → go around damaged areas.

Typical and Atypical behaviours

* **Typical:** behaviour that would usually occur and is appropriate and expected in a given situation.

\- It is what most people would ordinarily do in that situation at that time.

\
* **Atypical:** behaviour that differs markedly in some way from what is expected in a given situation.

\- It is uncommon and not what most people would ordinarily do in that situation at that time.

Maladaptive behaviours

* Any behaviour that is detrimental or interferes with an individual’s ability to adapt tp enviro and fulfil typical goal in society

→ eg self-isolation due to anxiety, sleeping too much due to depression, and lashing out at others when overwhelmed or angry.

Statistical Rarity

* behaviour that does not occur frequently in a population
* refers to someone who is atypical in some way, and because of that, they are engaging in behaviour that is considered abnormal.

→ therefore, typical and atypical behaviour can be determined by how often or how rarely they occur.