psych exam 2

what is consciousness?

consciousness is a person’s awareness of feelings, sensations, and thoughts at a given moment.

what is focused awareness?

a state of consciousness, able to direct consciousness

multitasking is a state of

divided conscious

how many people report being multitaskers? how many actually are?

80% think they are, 2.5% actually are

effects of multitasking

• increased productivity, decreased stress

• lack depth of knowledge

• reduces performance

T/F: dividing consciousness decreases performance

false!!

example of divided attention

distracted driving

• makeup

• phone

• other people in the car

• surroundings

• food/water

• changing radio/air in car

how long is a circadian rhythm?

24 hours

what is a circadian rhythm?

the biological clock. different biological processes run on this clock such as temperature, hormonal release, sleep, hunger, BMs, etc.

what influences the sleep-wake cycle?

daylight

effects of sleep deprivation

• fatigue

• impaired concentration

• emotional irritability

• depressed immune system

when sleep deprived, what do you have to catch up on?

REM sleep!

what waves are seen in ordinary wakefulness?

beta waves

what waves are seen in relaxed wakefulness?

alpha waves

describe stage 1 sleep

theta waves, irregular waves, hypnagogic state may occur(brief photograph like images), lasts 30-40 min

describe stage 2 sleep

brain waves slow, sensitive to external environment

• K-complexes: sudden sharp wave forms (indicators of noise around you)

• sleep spindles: short bursts that decrease brains sensitivity to external stimuli

describe stage 3 sleep

delta waves, deep sleep, difficult to wake

describe REM sleep

brain waves look similar to ordinary wakefulness. holy grail of sleep!! 90 min to get to REM sleep

what happens to sleep patterns as you age

you spend less time asleep, but a greater percentage of your sleep in REM. you start to utilize sleep more effectively. gradually get better at getting yourself into REM sleep

are dreams symbolic?

no, freud believed that they were

freud believed in latent content, the underlying meaning of the dream, and manifest content, what the dream is actually about

what do we tend to dream about and why?

tend to dream about stressors because dreams help us solve problems. you process information in your sleep/dreams.

are naps good?

yes as long as they are shorter than 90 minutes. more than 90, screws your sleep-wake cycle

what did william james come up with?

stream of consciousness

functions of sleep

• sleep protects

• conserves energy

• sleep recuperates

• consolidates memories (stores/processes)

what is insomnia?

persistent problems in falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up early.

symptom of ptsd. happens bc of stress, having difficulty turning brain off

what is hypersomia?

excessive sleep

what is sleep apnea?

temporary cessation of breathing during sleep, momentary reawakenings

• CPAP treats it

• potential indicators: genetics, white, middle-aged, male, overweight, snoring

what is narcolepsy?

uncontrollable sleep attacks, falling asleep at uncontrolled times. stress or emotion can cause a narcoleptic attack, treated by stimulant meds.

what are sleep terrors?

occur within 2-3 hours of sleep, generally in deep sleep, high-arousal, appears terrified but does not remember when woken up, night terrors involve pictures

caused by trauma, stress, etc.

are sleep terrors the same as nightmares?

no! sleep terrors appear as photo-like images while nightmares appear more like a video. nightmares also occur during rem and the person can remember them

what is sleepwalking?

occurs more often in childhood, occurs in stage 4

what is sleep talking?

genetic basis, can sometimes carry on conversations

what is enuresis?

bed-wetting. occurs more in childhood

sleep walking, sleep talking, enuresis and sleep terrors are all examples of what?

parasomnias

T/F: we exhibit complex behavioral patterns even in sleep

true

describe meditation

meditation is a state of focused consciousness. it has great benefits for stress and health. more often see relaxed brain waves with series of focused brain waves which indicates processing

hypnosis is a state of what?

extreme suggestibility

what is hypnosis?

a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

state of extreme suggestibility, helps w/ addiction, weight loss, athletic performance

the Orne & Evans study demonstrated what?

that hypnotized subjects are not likely to do anything while hypnotized that they wouldn’t do while awake and aware

• fake acid throwing

what is physical dependence?

• physiological need for a drug

• marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms

  • sweating

  • seizures

  • throwing up

what is psychological dependence?

• a psychological need to use a drug

  • ex. to relieve negative emotions

• withdrawal symptoms

  • attention

  • crying/emotional distress

what is tolerance?

diminishing effect with regular use of a drug

what is withdrawal?

discomfort and distress that follow discontinued use of a drug

what is a depressant?

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions, reduce CNS activity

examples of depressants

alcohol, barbiturates, opiates

effects of alcohol

• affects motor skills, judgement and memory

• reduces self awareness

• frontal lobe slows

what is korsa koffs syndrome?

prolonged stage of dementia from decades of alcohol abuse

why do people use alcohol?

• social aspect

• coping

• liquid courage (feeling powerful/in-control)

what is the most common reason why people use alcohol?

to reduce tension

what is most indicative of problem drinking?

using alcohol to reduce tension

T/F: expectancies are a more common predictor of alcohol abuse than demographics

true

what are barbiturates?

drugs that depress the activity of the CNS. reduces anxiety but impairs memory and judgement.

why are barbiturates less commonly prescribed now?

initially prescribed as anti-anxiety meds. they are highly addictive and the withdrawal is very dangerous. patients need to withdraw with medical supervision

what are opiates?

• opium and its derivatives (morphine, heroin, fentanyl)

• opiates depress neural activity, temporarily lessens pain and anxiety

• highly addictive

what are stimulants?

drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

examples of stimulants

nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine, ecstacy (MDMA)

positive effects of nicotine

• enhances memory and attention

• improves performance on simple repetitive tasks

• enhances mood

• helps people relax and reduce stress

• depress appetite and increase metabolic rate

negative effects of nicotine

• bad for the lungs

• physically least addictive, but psychologically most addictive

what are amphetamines?

• drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

• highly addictive

• lose teeth, dry skin, weight loss, can induce mental illness

• can be used to treat ADHD in low doses

effects of cocaine

• effects depend on dosage, form, expectations, personality and situation

  • coca leaves

  • powder

  • crack

what is the stigma with crack?

crack is associated with lower class individuals bc it is mixed with baking soda and costs less money

“crack is wack” - whitney houston

what is ecstacy?

• MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine)

• acts as both a stimulant and a mild hallucinogen

• dangerous short and long term effects

  • dehydration → death

  • long term brain damage

• brought out at concerts/parties/raves

• increases sensory experiences → want to be touched

how does administration of a drug affect the high?

• quick to blood (injection): acute/intense high

• slow to blood (snorting/smoking): longer lasting/duller high

what is a hallucinogen?

psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

examples of hallucinogens

LSD and marijuana

what is LSD

• lysergic acid diethylamlde

• a powerful hallucinogenic drug

• also known as acid

• half life is long— stored in the body for a long time in fatty tissue and CSF.

• can last years after taking

• hallucinations similar to schizophrenia

what is marijuana?

• THC- the major active ingredient in marijuana

• triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations

• physically addictive bc more potent

  • genetically modified weed

negative effects of marijuana

• amotivational syndrome

• can trigger schizophrenia

• memory issues

• paranoia

positive effects of marijuana

medicinal effects

• pain relief

• insomnia

• depression/anxiety

• glaucoma

• chemo nausea

what is learning?

a relatively permanent change in behavior or the potential to make a response as a result of experience

who came up with classical conditioning?

pavlov

what does NS stand for

neutral stimulus

what does NR stand for

neutral response

what is the relationship between the NS and the NR

NS does not cause NR

what does UCS stand for

unconditioned stimulus

what does UCR stand for

unconditioned response

what does CS stand for

conditioned stimulus

what does CR stand for

conditioned response

how are NS and CS related

the NS turns into the CS because it is learned

what two things are paired together to get the unconditioned response

NS and UCS repeatedly

order of learning in classical conditioning

NS → NR

UCS → UCR

NS + UCS → UCR

CS → CR

T/F: fears and phobias are commonly classically conditioned

true

what is extinction

• diminishing of a CR

• in classical conditioning, when a UCS does not follow a CS

• in operant conditioning, when a response is no longer reinforced

what is spontaneous recovery?

reappearance, after a rest period, or an extinguished CR

what is generalization

tendency for stimuli similar to CS to elicit similar responses

what is discrimination?

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a UCS

what is the only example of one trial learning?

taste aversion

what factors influence the acquisition of a CR?

• the optimum sequence is for the CS to precede the UCS (by about 0.5 seconds)

• the stronger the UCS, the stronger the conditioning

• The more times the CS and UCS are presented together, the stronger the CR becomes

what was the little albert experiment

conditioned a baby to be afraid of rats— generalized to all furry things

albert experienced infantile amnesia and lived a normal life

who came up with operant conditioning?

b.f. skinner

what did skinner believe?

that cognition didn’t matter → only behavior

what is operant conditioning?

a system of rewards and punishments

• behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement and diminished if followed by punishment

what do reinforcers do?

increase the probability of a behavior

what do punishments do?

decrease the probability of a behavior

what is thorndike’s principle

behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

what is shaping?

trying to get some kind of specific behavior to occur through reinforcing desired behavior

what was the skinner box?

trained animals, usually rats, to perform complex behaviors by using reinforcement

what is positive reinforcement?

increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli

what is negative reinforcement

increasing behavior by stopping or removing negative stimuli

what is a primary reinforcer?

innately reinforcing stimulus (biological need: food, water, shelter, etc)