Psych missed Weeks AI notes

Consciousness

Our subjective experience of the world, our bodies, and our mental perspectives.

Sleep paralysis

Condition of being unable to move when falling asleep or waking, often associated with anxiety and perceived menacing presence.

Circadian Rhythm

Biological cycles occurring roughly every 24 hours that affect bodily processes such as hormone release and body temperature.

Melatonin

A hormone that regulates sleepiness, its production increases to aid in falling asleep.

Sleep Deprivation

A lack of sleep that can result in irritability, concentration issues, and in severe cases, hallucinations.

REM sleep

A sleep stage characterized by vivid dreaming and brain activity resembling wakefulness.

Lucid Dreaming

A state where the dreamer is aware they are dreaming and may have some control over the dream.

Freud’s Dream Protection Theory

Suggests that dreams represent disguised wishes, criticized for negative dream content predominance.

Psychoactive Drugs

Substances that chemically alter consciousness by affecting neuronal activity.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process driven by the consequences of behavior, involving reinforcement and punishment.

Cognitive Economy

The tendency of the brain to simplify and organize experiences through cognitive shortcuts.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that enhance decision-making efficiency but may introduce biases.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs without reinforcement and is not immediately reflected in behavior.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs by watching others, reducing the need for direct experience.

Short-Term Memory

A system for temporarily maintaining and manipulating information for brief periods.

Long-Term Memory

The enduring retention of information that can last from minutes to years.

Primacy Effect

Better recall for the first items in a list, a phenomenon related to long-term memory.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of previously stored memories, often due to brain injury or trauma.

Schema

Organized mental frameworks that help interpret new information but can lead to oversimplification.