Psychology Exam 4

consciousness

awareness of ourselves and our environment; different levels of awareness (ex. when you drive, we tend to zone out a lot more than someone who just got their license)

circadian rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle; part of us that feels like waking up, eating, sleeping, wake/sleep cycle

REM Sleep

rapid eye movement sleep; a sleep stage where your body muscles are relaxed but your brain is very active; usually have very vivid dreams during this stage

sleep deprivation

a sufficient lack of restorative sleep over a period of time (days and/or weeks); teenagers are the most sleep deprived group; symptoms: headaches, mental fog, weight gain, increase in depression & anxiety, increase in sickness, lower levels of happiness

sleep disorders: insomnia

difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, very common disorder among adults; may happen during a stressful event or an upcoming event

sleep disorders: narcolepsy

sleep attacks- falling asleep at any given point; also feeling significant tiredness despite getting enough sleep and/or rest; also very common among adults

sleep disorders: sleep apnea

failure to breathe when asleep; more common among overweight males

sleep disorders: night terror

a very vivid scary and frightening dream; after waking up, most don't remember the terror

sleep disorders: sleep walking

somebody who is asleep and walking; usually harmless and eyes can be open while this occurs

sleep disorders: sleep talking

asleep and talking; usually very incoherent words and babbles; eyes can also be open while this occurs

Freud's theory of dreams

dreams are a roadway into our unconscious; 2 parts to dreams: the manifest content- the storyline of the dream and the latent content: the interpretation; what does it mean?

hypnosis

state of consciousness in which the person is especially susceptible to suggestion; can help recall forgotten events or relieve some pain (kind of like a placebo effect)

post-hypnotic suggestion

a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors

disassociation

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

developmental psychology

studies our physical, cognitive and social development throughout our lifespan

4 stages of prenatal development

conception: the moment the sperm enters the egg
zygote: 0-2 weeks after conception; rapid cell development
embryo: 2 weeks to 2 months
fetus: 2-9 months

Piaget's stages of cognitive development: Sensorimotor

occurs from birth to 2 years; when a child learns about the world through senses & motor behaviors; object permanence- understanding that if you don't see something it's still there; stranger anxiety- anxiety caused by strangers (8 months old)

Piaget's stages of cognitive development: Preoperational

occurs from 2 to 6-7 years; when babies start to imagine things; perform actions without understanding why; pretend play- when they invent elaborate characters or systems/scenarios; egocentrism- to be self-centered

Piget's stages of cognitive development: Concrete Operational

occurs from 7-11 years; children begin to think logically; conservation- something stays the same in quantity even though its appearance changes (ex. pouring a glass of water & pouring that same amount into a taller glass; it's the same quantity even though one looks like more than the other)

Piget's stages of cognitive development: Formal Operational

occurs from 12 years to adulthood; abstract thinking of abstract concepts like love and loneliness; abstract logic- concepts that are hard to grasp like love, hatred; mature moral reasoning- trying to do the right thing; morals/values

attachment

an emotional bond with another person (ex, significant other, parent, friends, or pets)

Harlow's Study on Attachment

a monkey experiment conducted by Harry Harlow in order to study where attachment comes from; it was believed that attachment came from food & nourishment; had Two "moms"- one wire and one wrapped in terry cloth. Monkey preferred comfy "mother"; concluded that sense of touch leads to attachment

Strange Situation Experiment

conducted by Mary Ainsworth; in which infants are exposed to a series of eight separation and reunion episodes to assess the quality of their attachment; concluded that whatever attachment style we had with our caregivers is almost always the same style we have when we are adults

secure attachment

an attachment style characterized by trust, a lack of concern with being abandoned, and the view that one is worthy and well liked; about 60% of Americans have this

insecure attachment

attachments marked by anxiety or ambivalence; if your needs are inconsistently met; about 40% of Americans have this

insecure attachment (avoidant)

seeming indifferent to mother's departure and return

insecure attachment (anxious)

clinging to mother, less likely to explore environment, and may get loudly upset with mother's departure and remain upset when she returns

temperament

how intensely does a person react

4 Parenting Styles: Authoritarian

a parent that is very strict, unwilling to compromise, very little flexibility on rules and everything only runs their way

4 Parenting Styles: Permissive

parents have very few rules and let their kids set their own rules; very flexible

4 Parenting Styles: Authoritative

parents who are in the middle; have clear rules but have flexibility and willing to compromise and have conversation

4 Parenting Styles: Negligent

parents who are very uninvolved with their kids; kids and parents lead 2 separate lives

idenity

our sense of self

social identity

the "we" part of our personality, who you are in relation to everybody; how do you fit into society?

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development: infancy

0-1 year; deals with trust vs. mistrust; if needs are dependably met, they will develop a sense of basic trust

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development: toddlerhood

1-3 years; deals with autonomy vs. shame & doubt; learn to exercise their will & do things for themselves, or they will doubt their abilities

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development: preschool

3-6 years; deals with initiative vs. guilt; learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about their efforts to be independent

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development: elementary school

6 years to puberty; deals with competence vs. inferiority; learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior (self-esteem & social identity)

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development: adolescence

teen into 20's; deals with identity vs. role confusion; work at refining sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are; referred to as "boomerang generation"

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development: young adulthood

20's to early 40's; deals with intimacy vs. isolation; struggle to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development: middle adulthood

40's to 60's; deals with generativity vs. stagnation; people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose; "work years"

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development: late adulthood

late 60's and up; integrity vs. despair; reflecting on his/her life, may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure

emerging adulthood

a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood; has gotten a lot longer in recent years, period went from 7 years to now 14 years

social clock

"biological clock"; internal clock that tells us when to do something personal like a big life event (ex. getting married, having kids, going to college, retiring)

life happiness

report that at each decade people report equal, moderate happiness; each person's individual level of happiness pretty much stays the same throughout life