PSY

Research
- All research is conducted to advance knowledge.
- False Memories: Memories can be constructed to fill in gaps, revealing the reconstructive nature of memory.
- Hypnosis: Visualization under hypnosis can create false memories.
- Common to forget due to memory repression; hypnosis can sometimes produce vivid, albeit untrue, memories.
- Early memories (ages 4-5) often mix truthful components with inaccuracies.

Step 1: Formulate a testable hypothesis.
Operational Definition: Describes actions to measure/control a variable.
Participants: Individuals (humans or animals) observed in a study.
Data Collection Techniques: Methods for making empirical observations.
- Naturalistic Observation: Observing behavior without interference.
- Case Study: In-depth investigation of a subject; highly subjective.
- Survey: Descriptive research involving questionnaires or interviews.

Evaluating Research
- Replication: Repeating studies to confirm results.
- Meta-Analysis: Combines statistics from multiple studies to check consistency.
- Placebo Effect: Expectations cause participants to experience changes without any actual effect.
- Expectancy Influence: Explores how expectations shape perception.
- Experimenter Bias: Expectations of researchers affecting outcomes.
- IRB (Institutional Review Board): Ensures ethical conduct of research; participants must be informed and can withdraw at any time.

Biological Basis of Behavior
- Soma: Cell body of a neuron; contains neurotransmitter precursors.
- Neurotransmitters:
  - Dopamine: Related to pleasure and fluent thinking; deficiency can lead to Parkinson's.
  - Serotonin: Commonly associated with mood and depression.
  - Acetylcholine (ACh): The only transmitter for voluntary muscles.
  - GABA: Produces inhibitory potentials.
  - Endorphins: Internally produced chemicals that mimic opiates.
- Plasticity of the Brain:
  - The hippocampus is important for memory, though not the sole storage location.
  - Brain plasticity signifies memory's non-fixed nature.

Attachment Theory
- Emotional bond between infant and caretaker; separation anxiety may arise.
- Behaviorist View: Harlow's challenge to attachment based solely on feeding.
  - Emphasizes tactile comfort over food in the mother-child bond.
- Patterns of Attachment:
  - Secure Attachment: Healthy emotional bond.
  - Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment: Child shows distress upon separation but ambivalence towards reunion.
  - Avoidant Attachment: Little contact sought, showing indifference to mother’s departure.
- Strange Situation Procedure: Used to classify attachment styles.
- Piaget's Stages of Development:
  - Sensorimotor: Interaction with surroundings; understanding object permanence.
  - Preoperational: Development of memory and imagination; egocentrism predominates.
  - Concrete Operational: Logical thinking develops; requires material objects.
  - Formal Operational: Abstract and systematic reasoning becomes prevalent.

Piaget's Stages
- 1. Sensorimotor Period: Birth to age 2
- 2. Preoperational Period: Ages 2-7
- 3. Concrete Operational Period: Ages 7-11
- 4. Formal Operational Period: Age 11 onward
Definitions:
- Phenotype: Visual representation of genetic expression.
- Genotype: Underlying genetic makeup.
Teratogens: Agents like alcohol that affect fetal development, potentially causing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development:
- Level 1: Preconventional morality (punishment/reward-based).
- Level 2: Conventional morality (social norms).
- Level 3: Postconventional morality (universal ethical principles).
Giligan's Theory: Women are relationship-oriented; men focus on laws.
Freud's Psychosexual Stages: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital; impact on personality development; issues in early stages can cause future imbalances.

Erikson's Psychosocial Stages
- Emphasizes conflicts at each stage, shaping personal growth.
- James Marcia: Identity achievement theory
  - Diffusion: Inactivity in identity search.
  - Moratorium: Active exploration of identity.
  - Foreclosure: Acceptance of identity without exploration (e.g., following family legacy).
  - Achievement: Successful identity formation.
State of Consciousness:
- EEG Patterns: Different brain wave activities (beta, alpha, theta, REM) signify various states of consciousness.
- Sleep Deprivation: Can lead to quicker re-entry into REM, alongside occurrence of microsleeps.

Dreaming
- Freud's Theory: Dreams represent unconscious thoughts; consist of manifest and latent content.
  - Manifest content: the literal story;
  - Latent content: the underlying meaning.
- Carl Jung: Collective unconscious shares universal symbols and interpretations.
- Random Neural Firing: Dreams may arise from random neural activity.
- Problem-Solving Theory: Dreams assist in emotional processing and conflict resolution.

Sleep-Wake Cycle
- Biological Rhythm: Internal natural clock influencing body functions.
- Circadian Rhythms: 24-hour cycle affecting sleep, hormonal secretion, etc.; disrupted circadian rhythms can lead to issues like jet lag.

Learning Theory
- Classical Conditioning: Pairing neutral and unconditioned stimuli to evoke a conditioned response.
  - Pavlov's Dog Experiment:
    - Neutral Stimulus: A stimulus that initially elicits no response.
    - Unconditioned Stimulus: Naturally evokes response.
    - Conditioned Stimulus: Originally neutral stimulus that evokes conditioned response after pairing.
    - Conditioned Response: Learned reaction to conditioned stimulus.
  - Significant terms: Acquisition, Extinction, Spontaneous Recovery, Renewal Effect.

Operant Conditioning
- Learning process defined by consequences of behavior: reinforcement (positive or negative) and punishment (omission or application).
- Positive Reinforcement: Adding incentive to increase behavior.
- Negative Reinforcement: Removal of adverse stimuli to increase behavior.
- Punishment: Seeks to reduce probability of behavior recurrence.
- Shaping: Gradual reinforcement leading to complex behaviors, often used in animal training.

Quiz Elements
- Topics covering material from lectures and textbook regarding learning, sleep, conditioning, drug impacts, and neurotransmitters.