gen psych exam 2

limbic system

middle of brain; governs emotions and memory

consists of amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus

amygdala

involved with emotions (aggression, fear)

ex: anxiety patients have larger amygdala

ex 2: damage to amygdala - no aggressive response or processing of fear

hypothalamus

regulates endocrine activity

• controls hormone release (signals pituitary gland)

• reward and pleasure (dopamine receptors in hypothalamus)

hippocampus

“gateway to memory”

enables formation of new conscious memories (HM)

cerebral cortex

outside of the brain; higher forms of thinking

2 hemispheres: left and right

4 lobes of the brain

located on each hemisphere (left and right) of cerebral cortex

frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal

degree of wrinkling of the brain

increases with age and as it grows; reflects brain’s complexity

frontal lobe

at front of the brain

planning, creative thinking, personality

contains motor cortex and broca’s area

motor cortex

part of the frontal lobe; responsible for voluntary movement

which part of body moves on the opposite side

homunculus

map of motor (or sensory) cortex

what we would look like if body size correlated with how much control the motor cortex has over what organ (more fine motor control); tongue and hands are largest

broca’s area

responsible for speech production (left frontal lobe)

producing writing, signs

broca’s asphasia

damage to broca’s area; difficulty producing language, pronouncing words incorrectly

mirror neurons

part of frontal lobe; neurons fire when observing another person doing something

ex: sports fans’ neurons fire when watching a game

monkey see, monkey do - has same neurons firing seeing banana held by researcher vs holding banana

allows us to show empathy and take others’ perspectives - their neurons fire in us

parietal lobes

top of the brain; contains somatosensory cortex

somatosensory cortex

receives information about touch sensation, pain

cross-wiring

the opposite side of the body works for motor and sensory cortex

occipital lobes

in the back of the head; contains visual cortex

visual cortex

processes visual signals

damage to occipital lobe could cause vision loss

eyes → thalamus → visual cortex

most sensitive parts to touch (homunculus)

largest on sensory cortex; mouth, eyes, fingers

eyes are very sensitive to eyelashes

temporal lobes

on sides of head; contains auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area

auditory cortex

processes sound

ears → thalamus → temporal lobe

can cause hearing impairment if temporal lobe/auditory cortex not working

wernicke’s area

language comprehension (left side in most people)

wernicke’s aphasia

impairment in understanding language, comprehension of words said is hard

“the table ran softly with the blue idea”

plasticity

flexibility of brain structures

1. brain can shift functions from damaged to undamaged areas; damage means new synapses and reorganization of brain

2. brain can physically change structure in response to learning; highest plasticity when younger

plasticity examples

1. ex: left finger amputated → area devoted to it on sensory cortex will process other fingers’ signals

ex 2: someone who doesn’t see has enhanced auditory cortex ability

ex 3: left motor cortex damaged by stroke → right motor cortex can operate right arm

2. ex: juggling - after learning, MRI showed growth in brain; same in 3 months as 7 days and elderly showed same growth

neurogenesis

growth of new neurons; part of plasticity

promoted by physical activity, sleep, and lack of stress

lobes of the brain diagram

attention

focusing consciousness on specific stimuli or aspect of stimuli

unequal attention to things

selective attention

focusing on specific information while ignoring other information

multitasking is impossible; actually switching between 2 things (texting and driving)

problems selective attention gives us

inattentional blindness and change blindness

inattentional blindness

failing to detect available stimuli due to selective attention

don’t detect something because you’re not paying attention to it

ex: 75% of students didn’t notice clown on unicycle even though they were close

ex 2: no one noticed the gorilla because they were counting basketballs

change blindness

failing to detect changes in stimuli due to selective attention

ex: gorilla changed to chickensuit and no one noticed the difference

ex 2: change in person handing the consent form

circadian rhythm

biological clock controlled by the hypothalamus

provides a 24-hr approximate schedule for physical processes

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

in the hypothalamus; sensitive to changes in light

controls pineal gland

pineal gland

secretes melatonin as a result to SCN (hormone that causes sleepiness)

pathway to secrete melatonin

affected by light

eyes → SCN → pineal gland → melatonin/no melatonin

darkness

SCN directs pineal gland to secrete melatonin

light

SCN directs pineal gland to stop secreting melatonin

alterations to circadian rhythms and light

artificial lighting → interferes with circadian rhythm

blue light is used to prevent this

sleep stages

~90 minute cycle of sleep stages; includes N1, N2, N3, and REM

N1

light sleep; easy to wake up someone; some don’t realize they’re sleeping in this stage

includes hypnic or hypnagogic jerk: involuntary muscle contraction, feeling of falling in sleep

hypnagogic hallucinations: thoughts don’t make sense, just seeing things that aren’t dreaming

N2

true sleep; brain activity slows, reductions in heart rate and muscle tension

harder to wake someone, calling name to wake up, they will know they were asleep

N3

deep sleep, least activity (high waves on EEG) → usually 40 minutes

further slowing of brain activity, disoriented when awakened, must shake and say name

breathing and heart rate at lowest

growth hormones released from pituitary (important in children); if you did more work in the day → more time in N3 and more growth hormone released

REM (rapid eye movement)

brain waves resemble wakefulness; brain is very active (hard to tell on EEG difference between awake and REM)

eyes move back and forth

heart rate, blood pressure breathing is rapid or irregular

sleep paralysis: muscle movement shut down via pons so cannot move in dreams

“paradoxical sleep” → paradox between brain and body activity (brain active, body at rest)

dreams happen most commonly here; REM increases as night progresses

evolutionary/adaptive theory of sleep

for protection; not out and vulnerable to predators in the dark

we don’t have night vision or self-defense, come out of cave when light is back

restorative theory of sleep

sleep supports growth and healing; produces growth hormone and supports immune functioning

sleep deprivation → susceptible to sickness due to slower healing and reduced immune system activity

ex: night shifts cause increased risk of diabetes and heart disease

ex 2: rats’ sleep deprivation kills them faster than food deprivation → more sleep, longer life

information processing theory of sleep

sleep supports cognitive processes; supports learning (memory, plasticity, neurogenesis) restores and builds memories

sleep deprivation → impairment of memory function

supports creative thinking

ex: taught a new skill - kept up all night vs. sleeping → deprivation wipes all learning

effects of sleep deprivation

irritability, mood disruption (amygdala more active)

increased risk of depression and obesity (increases cortisol which increases fat production)

freud’s dream theory

dreams come from unconscious thoughts (psychodynamic)

• manifest content: actual images in the dream

  • ex: dream about playing with a dog

• latent content: unconscious thoughts, feelings, and wishes behind manifest content

  • unconscious thoughts were about something behind the symbols; dogs symbolize having freedom

activation synthesis theory (dreams)

brain’s internally generated signals form dreams (where dreams come from)

synthesis of random signals during REM (neurons firing at random)

information processing theory (dreams)

memories of events form dreams

dreams of people and what you studied

preserving neural pathways (dreams)

why we dream; purpose of dreaming is to provide brain stimulation

maintaining synapses - if synapse stops connecting, then they will get weaker

developmental psychology

scientific study of patterns of change and stability in humans, how we change and grow throughout the lifespan

development

the pattern of change from conception throughout the lifespan (womb to tomb)

behavioral genetics

study of genetic and environmental bases of individual differences in behavior and personality

how genes and environment contribute to behavior

heritability

statistical estimate of contribution of heredity to individual differences

ex: heritability of intelligence is 50-80% → attributed to genes but also environment

adoption studies

compare adopted children to adoptive families and biological families

adopted children have genes from parents but environment from adoptive parents - who are they more similar to?

twin studies

compare pairs of monozygotic and same-sex dizygotic twins

how similar twins are to each other

monozygotic twins (MZ)

share 100% genes, identical twins

dizygotic twins (DZ)

share 50% genes on average

one twin may have a gene while other may not

adoption twin studies

compare MZ twins separated in infancy vs. MZ twins raised together

if a trait is highly heritable, both MZ twins would have it

if a trait is environmentally heritable, both twins may not have it

reflexes

automatic responses to a specific stimulus

primitive reflexes (infant reflexes)

infants are born with this and they dissapear through life; includes sucking, rooting, moro, grasping, and babinski

sucking reflex

if you put something to a baby’s mouth they will suck on it

rooting reflex

something touches the baby’s cheek → they will turn in that direction and suck

moro reflex

if a baby is startled or is leaned backward, they will flail their arms

swaddling helps prevent this

grasping reflex

if something touches the baby’s palm they will grasp it

babinski reflex

if you stroke the baby’s foot their toes will curl up and fan out

theory of cognitive stages

piaget - how does the mind structure its content and adapt to the environment; children are self-motivated to learn and explore (toddlers touch things, little scientists)

children understand the world with schemes/schema - mental categories of what you know

cognitive development

children make constant mental adaptations to new observations and experiences, seeing if something new fits into their schema

assimilation

fitting new information into present system of knowledge (schema)

ex: schema for dogs - 4 legs, fur, and a tail

when you see a cat (also 4 legs, fur, and a tail), you adjust your schema

accomodation

as a result of new information, change existing schema or make a new one

ex: point to cat and say dog → changed schema to dogs have 4 legs, tail, fur, and bark

4 cognitive stages (piaget)

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations

have to complete each stage before moving onto the next

some people can fly

sensorimotor stage

birth to 2 years; looking, touching, sucking

using senses and motor skills to explore the world, tasked with maintaining life and order

learn object permanence

object permanence

during sensorimotor stage; understanding that something continues to exist even when it cannot be seen (before this, objects just disappear to babies → why they like peek-a-boo)

preoperational stage

age 2-7; consists of egocentric and animistic thinking, cannot grasp concept of conservation

egocentric

child can only use own frame of reference, can only think about things in their own view

ex: grandma would want a toy for her birthday because child would want one

animistic thinking

attributing life to objects; think that objects have feelings like stuffed animals

conservation

children cannot grasp this in preoperational stage, don’t understand that physical properties don’t change when appearance changes

ex: glass of water poured into tall beaker, child thinks tall beaker has more water

ex 2: mozzarella sticks cut into 3 but child wants more so when cut into 4 they’re happy

concrete operations stage

age 7-11; can understand conservation, reversibility, and transitivity

reversibility

idea that a stimulus that has been changed can return to its original state

ex: can refold an unfolded blanket, can put ice cream back

transitivity

understanding how components in a series are related, if A→B and B→C, then A→C

ex: poodle is a dog and dog is a mammal, so poodle is a mammal

formal operations stage

age 11 to adulthood

abstract and systematic reasoning; can understand figures of speech

thinking about future possibilities; become better argumentatively, can find flaws in adults’ logic

vgotsky’s theory of sociocultural influences

children are apprentices; they need to be taught how to do things

cognitive development results from guidance

consists of zone of proximal development and scaffolding

zone of proximal development

level at which a child can almost perform a task independently

give child something just beyond their skill level (6th graders get 7th grade books)

difference between what the child can do alone and with assistance (6 hours → no highway, but local roads at first)

scaffolding

teacher adjusts amount of support to child’s level of development

ex: first driving lesson requires lots of instruction to student

as they get better, instructor will say less

theory of mind

understanding how other people think; other’s thoughts and opinions are different from their own (no longer egocentric)

band-aid box study: kids shown Band-Aid box with pencils inside, younger kids (3) said someone else in the room would guess there are pencils in the box

social development

lifelong changes in interpersonal thought, feeling, and behavior

Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development

8 stages; important to meet challenges in stages to move up to the next or else you won’t be as equipped

Take All Ideas, Invent Interesting Items, Get Income.

trust vs. mistrust

birth-1 year; allows formation of intimate relationships; if needs are not met, have difficulties trusting others

develops when caregiving is sensitive, responsive, and consistent; baby will trust caregiver as needs are met

autonomy vs. shame and doubt

ages 1-3; development of independence and self-control as toddlers want to do things themselves; let them do stuff so they can learn

initiative vs. guilt

ages 3-5; is child good or bad?

children get approval/disapproval from others in their lives

children feel guilt if they get disapproval

industry vs. inferiority

ages 6-11; sense of competence or inadequacy

children evaluated on abilities such as grades, if teacher is always criticizing, child thinks they’re inferior

attachment

enduring, emotional bond between infant and another person

a trusted connection, safety and security when with parents

soft contact

harlow - soft and cuddly contact is important

ex: rhesus monkeys - cloth mother (no food) vs. wire mother (food), cloth mother gave comfort when robot eyes flashed

strange situation (ainsworth)

mother and baby in lab, mother would leave and stranger leaves; babies’ response showed their type of attachment

secure attachment

close attachment to caregiver (cries when mom leaves)

adult as a secure base from which to explore (will go explore and then come back and give mom a hug)

insecure-anxious/ambivalent attachment

resistant, when mom left, cried and when mom came back they were angry, kicked or wriggled out

push/pull - mad that mom left but also happy she was back

insecure-avoidant

no attachment; unphased to see mom back

what causes insecure attachment

temperament: baby is responded to constantly → born w/ secure attachment style

stressful home life - parents cannot give much attention to baby, lack of consistent responses

parenting