Psych 1004 Exam 2

Nature vs. nurture

development is the product of both biological & environmental factors (not a dichotomy)

Richard Mulcaster

1582

• nature: biological endowment (now called genetic inheritance)

• Nurture: environmental conditions in which individual develops

• together, both impact child development

Francis Galton

• 1800s

• looked for importance of 1 over the other

• claimed nature predominated over nurture for intellectual abilities

• beginning of nature-nurture debate

Epigenetics

combination of genetic & environmental influences on a trait & the study of molecular mechanisms through which environments can affect gene expression (emerging area of scientific research)

• almost all psychological problems/disorders are caused by combination of biological & environmental factors

Causes of Depression

• biological theories

• cognitive theories

• biopsychosocial explanation

Biological Theories (cause of depression)

• genetic factors

• 50% of ppl w/ depression have family history

• genes may affect production/use of NTs (serotonin, dopamine)

Cognitive Theories (cause of depression)

• depression results from negative thinking

• Aaron Beck

  • negative views of self, environment, & future

  • magnifies errors & misfortunes

Biopsychosocial Explanation (cause of depression)

• genetics, early gene-environment interactions, physiology, cognitions cause vulnerability to depression

• Diathesis-stress model (vulnerability): both a predisposition & a precipitating event needed for disorder to develop

2 types of depression

1. Major Depressive Disorder

   1. shorter bursts & timeline, severe

   2. clinical depression

   3. acute sadness & loss of interest/pleasure for at least 2 weeks

2. Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)

   1. longer-lasting symptoms but not as severe

   2. low-level

   3. chronic, depressed mood for more days than not over 2+ years

Schizophrenia

• ~1/300 people

• many types

• symptoms:

  • delusions: thoughts inconsistent with reality, possibly hallucinations

  • disordered thinking

  • inappropriate/small range of emotions

• diathesis-stress model is appropriate

• brain has hollow parts

Causes of Schizophrenia

• Biological-genetic

• Environmental risks

Biological-genetic (cause of Schizophrenia)

genetic factors are complex w/ many genes involved, each w/ small contribution to symptoms—many of them also implicated in mood disorders

Environmental Risks (cause of Schizophrenia)

• pregnancy/birth complications

• childhood head injury

• stress (perhaps especially during adolescence)

differences between environments in Babies (movie)

• parental supervision/proximity

• exploration of environment

• technology

• urban vs. rural

• schedules/structure

• outside vs. inside

Challenges for today’s parents in America

1. pressure to have good/happy/smart kids

2. few norms/sources of support

   1. no paid parental leave (from govt)

   2. not as much extended family involvement

   3. no nationally sponsored daycare

3. fear of dangers

   1. fears not supported by stats (like amount of violence)

Jean Piaget

• precocious Swede — work popularized in 1960s

• worked w/ Binet on children’s intelligence tests—younger children answer Qs differently b/c think differently

• Schema

• Stages of Cognitive Development

Schema

mental structure/framework that organizes/interprets info (ex. political parties, babies have different schema for sucking/grasping on different things)

Schema can be altered (2 ways)

1. Assimilation: incorporation—interpreting new info in terms of existing knowledge

2. Accommodation: adjustment—modifying existing knowledge in response to new input (ex. baby learns not all animals are dogs)

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

1. Sensorimotor (0-2)

2. Preoperational (2-7)

3. Concrete Operational (7-11)

4. Formal Operational (12-adult)

Sensorimotor

• 0-2 yr

• experience word through senses & actions (looking/mouthing/touching)

• object permanence: something still exists even if you can’t see it

Preoperational

• 2-7 yrs

• represent things w/ small words/images, but literally & w/o logical reason

• unable to see another’s perspective

Concrete Operational

• 7-11 yr

• logical thinking about observable, straightforward events

• making analogies

• understanding abstract qualities (ex. conservation of mass/volume)

Formal Operational

• 12-adult

• abstract & moral reasoning

• understanding hypotheticals

Criticisms of Piaget

1. too general (doesn’t account for individual/cultural/environmental differences)

2. development stops at adolescence

3. too much about certain kind of thinking (logical, mathematical)

Lev Vygotsky

• popularized in 1990s

• in recent years, Vygotsky has increased in popularity & Piaget decreased

• Sociocultural Theory

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

• culture & adult interaction are vital

  • children learn informally through adults & through formal teaching

• culture affects cognitive development in 2 ways:

  • children acquire content of their knowledge (what to learn)

  • culture offers children the processes/ways of thinking (cognitive tools) (how to learn)

• starting around 2 y/o language becomes essential, integrated part of thinking

  • talking to self out loud at first, then inner speech

3 features of attachment

1. proximity—want to be near caregiver

2. separation anxiety

3. security—cling to caregiver when scared

Mary Ainsworth

Strange Situation experiment—analyzed baby’s response to mother after brief separation

4 categories of attachment

1. Secure: explore while gone, approach upon return

2. Insecure-Avoidant: no distress while gone, resist proximity upon return

3. Insecure-Ambivalent: upset while gone, clingy & angry upon return

4. Disoriented/disorganized: no clear patterns, confused—often occurs in maltreated children

• products of parenting style & infant temperament

Individualistic culture

lot of focus on individual needs/happiness (ex. US)

Collectivist culture

lot of focus on good of the group, respect for family/elders (ex. China)

Changes in relationships w/ age

1. elementary age: parent

2. middle school: same sex friend

3. high school: same sex friend

4. college: partner, parents more supportive

Consciousness

awareness of environments/mental processes

Sigmund Freud

• Austrian physician & psychiatrist in 19th & 20th centuries

• Developed theory as he treated middle- & upper-class women w/ emotional probs who were mostly married, “proper,” & w/ few freedoms/outlets

• focused on unconscious mind

3 components of personality

Id, superego, ego

Id

• I want

• Instinctual sexual/aggressive energy

• Pleasure Principle: immediate gratification

• irrational, selfish

Superego

• ideals, morals, conscience, right & wrong

• In conflict w/ Id

Ego

• Manager—tries to satisfy id in accordance w/ what’s realistic & moral (superego)

• Reality Principle: control id & denies/delays gratification

Sublimation

substituting socially unacceptable desire of id w/ acceptable one

3 mental systems for consciousness

1. conscious: processes for which person is subjectively aware

2. preconscious: processes not presently conscious, but could be quickly (ex. playing trivia)

3. unconscious: processes inaccessible to consciousness b/c repressed (anxiety-inducing)

Ways unconscious mind is revealed

1. dream analysis

2. Rorschach tests (inkblots)

   1. for: response to ambiguous image uncovers unconscious thoughts—can be useful in disorder diagnosis

   2. skeptical: there are better ways to diagnose psychological disorders

3. Freudian Slip

   1. for: can reveal repressed memories/thoughts/wants/fears

   2. skeptical: not meaningful

Purposes of sleep

• restores muscles/brain tissues

• aids immune system

• helps consolidate memories & repairs neurons

• keeps us safe (quiet & out of trouble) at night

Circadian rhythms

internal patterns of bodily functions over 24-hr period

superchiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

key brain area in hypothalamus

• helps keep our temp, hunger, sleep, etc. on synchronized schedule

• receives input from retina about light/dark cycles

EEGs

graphically record brain-wave activity through electrodes

• waves vary in frequency & amplitude

• help define sleep stages

Stage 1 & 2 of sleep

waves have high & mixed frequency, low amplitude

Stage 3

waves have low frequency, high amplitude (deep sleep)

body relaxes & EEG activity, heart rate, & breathing slow

Stage 4

waves have high frequency, low amplitude (like awake brain)

REM sleep

Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep

physiologically similar to being awake

many muscles paralyzed—sleepwalking cannot occur

vivid, long-lasting, & detailed dreams

25% of night

Alcohol & sleep

sedative — gets you into light sleep

as it’s metabolized, stages get disrupted, & you get less deep sleep & REM — 2nd half of night is mostly stages 1 & 2 interrupted by wakefulness

Psychodynamic perspective of dreaming

dreams are important way unconscious mind talks to us

• they have meaning

• Freud — there are stories/symbols/wishes hidden in unconscious that come out as images at night

  • Manifest content: story of dream

  • Latent content: important part — hidden meaning of dream

• Jung — symbolism & latent content not so important, dreams express our deep instinctive feelings/thoughts about life, content/symbolism in dreams shared by people

Cognitive perspective on dreaming

dreams can be important but no hidden meaning — they are extension of thoughts/wishes from daytime

• day residue: dreams are products of neurons firing bc same neurons used during the day

Physiological/neuron activation perspective on dreaming

brain activity of REM sleep is important for memory formation — leads to images forming

Perhaps dreams start w/ random neural firing & brain makes up story with images formed

3 main drug categories

1. Stimulants (amphetamines, caffeine, ecstasy)

2. Depressants (alcohol, tranquilizers, opiates)

3. Hallucinogens (LSD, mushrooms, marijuana)

3 ways drugs commonly affect people

1. alter mood—most addictive drugs stimulate reward pathway in brain

   1. mesolimbic pathway: in middle of brain—dopamine focused here then travels throughout

2. alter energy levels (ex. amphetamines stimulate release of epinephrine (NT that increases sympathetic activity))

3. produce hallucinations

Adderall

• amphetamine for ADHD & anxiety

• stimulates central nervous system—causes increased HR, BP, respiration, arousal/wakefulness/focus, and decreases appetite

• stimulates dopamine, norepinephrine, & serotonin pathways

• can be dangerous long-term but meant to increase dopamine in way that mimics natural production in brain

Lithium

• for BPD (manic depression)

• mood modulator—decreases depression & mania symptoms

• high energy, less need for sleep, fast speech, impulsivity

• affects NT systems—decreases amount/sensitivity of dopamine & glutamate

Psilocybin

in hallucinogenic mushrooms

studied at Johns Hopkins—tester takes ~2x recreational dosage—trip lasts ~6 hours—not always pleasant—more intense/worse trips seem to have better outcomes

Pros of Psilocybin

• could be used for anorexia, depression, addictions, & early Alzheimer's—early results are promising

• 1-2 treatments can last for months

Cons of Psylocybin

• not easy to test w/ double-blind procedures & randomly-assigned control groups

• people might try on their own or micro dose, even w/ little support of effectiveness

Psychotropic drugs

alter mental activity/conscious experience

Drug tolerance

need more of drug for same results

withdrawal

when use is stopped, cravings & symptoms occur that are opposite of drug’s affects (ex. tired w/o coffee, jittery w/o tranquilizer)

How do tolerance/withdrawals occur

changing regulation of pathways

Classical Conditioning

1. Before learning: unconditioned stimulus (meat) → unconditioned response

2. During learning: conditioned stimulus (metronome tone) → unconditioned stimulus → unconditioned response

3. After learning: conditioned stimulus → conditioned response

Operant conditioning

environment rewards/punishes

• + reinforcement = behavior inc. (ex. praise)

• + punishment = behavior dec. (ex. getting yelled at for being bad)

• - reinforcement = behavior inc. (ex. sweatshirt when it’s cold, making excuse not to go to something)

• - punishment = behavior dec. (ex. being grounded & losing privileges)