AP Psychology | Myers' Unit 1-14 Review

Unit 1: Psychology's History and Its Approaches

Definition of Psychology

• Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, encompassing a diverse range of topics including emotions, thoughts, and interactions.

Behavior

• Behavior refers to the observable actions conducted by living organisms, influenced by a variety of internal and external factors, including biological and environmental.

Mental Processes

• Mental processes are the internal experiences that can only be inferred through behavior such as thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions, highlighting the complexity of the human mind.

Nature vs. Nurture

• A central question in psychology is whether human attributes and traits are predominantly shaped by genetics (nature) or life experiences (nurture). This debate has profound implications for various fields, including psychology, education, and social sciences.

• Answer: Both nature and nurture play significant roles in influencing human traits. A well-known quotation in this discussion is, "Nurture works on what nature endows," highlighting the interplay between genetics and environment.

Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection

• Charles Darwin’s theory posits that those organisms exhibiting advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, thereby passing these traits on to future generations. For instance, the evolution of longer necks in giraffes is cited as a survival advantage in accessing food from taller trees, showcasing natural selection in action.

Unit 2: Research Methods in Psychology

Importance of Research Methods

• Research methods are fundamental in psychology as they provide standardized procedures that minimize bias and error, ensuring the reliability and validity of findings.

Types of Assignments in Experiments

• Control Group: This group does not receive the experimental treatment, serving as a baseline to compare against the experimental group.

  • Ex: In a test observing a drug’s effects, participants are given a placebo, making participants think that they are also getting the same drug allowing researchers to assess the drug's effectiveness by comparing the outcomes between the two groups.

• Experimental Group: This group receives the actual treatment or intervention, allowing researchers to assess the effects of the treatment.

  • Ex: In the same test mention before, this group will be given a specific dosage of the drug to test different inputs to sees how people will react

  • Could have multiple Experimental Groups

Statistical Techniques

• Regression: A technique that can be used to find correlation between 2 events or occurrences

  • Basically, used for cause and effect

• Statistical Significance: How reliable the demonstrated differences are between the control group and the treatment group

Statistical Methods

• Statistical analysis plays a crucial role in interpreting research results. Key terms to understand include:

  • Mean: The average value in a data set.

  • Median: The middle value when data is ordered.

  • Standard Deviation: A measure of variability within a set of data.

  • Statistical Significance: Indicates whether the results of an experiment are likely to be due to chance.

Eliminating Bias

• Double-Blind Methods: These methods are employed to eliminate biases in experimentation by ensuring that neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving the treatment or placebo, thus preventing placebo effects and ensuring more credible results.

Unit 3: Biological Foundations of Behavior

Principle

• Understanding that everything psychological is also biological is a fundamental principle in psychology, illustrating the connection between mental processes and biological mechanisms.

Neurons

• Neurons are the fundamental building blocks of the nervous system, responsible for transmitting information throughout the body. There are several types of neurons:

  • Sensory Neurons: These neurons carry messages from sensory receptors to the brain, allowing us to perceive our environment.

  • Motor Neurons: These neurons transmit messages from the brain to muscles and glands, facilitating movement.

• Action Potential: The electrical impulse that travels along the axon of a neuron, communicating messages through neurotransmitters across synapses to other neurons.

  • Used to send messages around the body

• Neurotransmitter: A chemical messenger

• Synapse: A very tiny gap between axon and dendrite of neurotransmitters in the brain

Nervous System Structure

• Central Nervous System (CNS): Consists of the brain and spinal cord, serving as the control center for processing and responding to sensory information.

• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): This bifurcated system is divided into two main parts:

  • Somatic System: Controls voluntary movements by conveying messages to and from skeletal muscles.

  • Autonomic System: Regulates involuntary actions managing internal organs, and is further divided into:

    • Sympathetic System: Prepares the body for stressful situations, enhancing energy expenditure.

    • Parasympathetic System: Responsible for conserving energy and relaxing the body after stress.

• Picture of the Nervous System Tree:

Endocrine System

• The endocrine system secretes hormones that influence motivation, emotional responses, and behaviors. Hormones act as messengers in the body, affecting various systems and functions.

Brain Structure

• The complexity of brain structures includes:

  • Brainstem: Controls vital functions like heartbeat and breathing (medulla).

  • Thalamus: Acts as a relay station, directing sensory and motor signals to the respective areas of the brain.

  • Cerebellum: Responsible for coordination of movements and balance.

  • Limbic System: A collection of structures involved in emotion, memory, and motivation, including:

    • Hippocampus: Critical for memory formation.

    • Amygdala: Involved in emotional processing.

    • Hypothalamus: Regulates basic motivational systems such as hunger and thirst.

  • Mamillary Body: Plays a role in memory processing and is connected to the hippocampus.

Cerebral Cortex

• The cerebral cortex is responsible for higher-level cognitive functions, complex thinking, and language production. Notable areas include:

  • Broca's Area: Involved in speech production.

  • Wernicke's Area: Responsible for language comprehension.

Neuroplasticity

• Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. This capacity facilitates recovery from injuries and adaptation to new experiences but tends to diminish as one ages.

Nature vs. Nurture

• Genetics: Humans have 46 chromosomes in DNA, we share 99.9% of our DNA with each other and we share 96% of genetic material with chimpanzees, providing insights into inherited traits.

• Twin Studies: Research involving separated twins demonstrates that they exhibit similar personality traits, underscoring the impact of genetics (nature).

• Environmental Influence: Studies have shown that children adopted into nurturing environments often outperform their biological parents in various endeavors, highlighting the critical role of nurturing (nurture).

• Combined Influence: It is crucial to recognize that nature and nurture work collaboratively; genetic predispositions often respond dynamically to environmental influences.

Unit 4: Sensation and Perception

Sensation vs. Perception

• Sensation refers to the process of detecting physical energy from the environment, while perception involves interpreting these sensory inputs. Our cognitive focus is often limited, leading to phenomena such as change blindness, where significant changes in the visual field go unnoticed due to attention constraints.

Human Eye Function

• The human eye functions by detecting light and adjusting brightness through the pupil, allowing us to perceive visual stimuli effectively.

Parallel Processing

• This cognitive ability permits the brain to process multiple aspects of sensory information simultaneously, enabling efficient perception of complex scenes.

Auditory System

• The cochlea processes sound, translating changes in air pressure into neural signals; the perception of loudness is directly correlated with the extent of nerve stimulation.

Touch and Pain

• Pain encompasses both physical and psychological dimensions, with expectations and past experiences influencing pain perception significantly.

Taste and Smell

• The chemical senses of taste and smell depend on taste buds and olf actory receptors respectively, collaborating to provide a comprehensive sensory experience.

Information Organization

• The brain employs various organizational methods to interpret sensory data effectively, where contextual cues and emotional states can significantly influence perception.

Conclusion for Part 1

This compilation summarizes key psychological principles, emphasizing the critical interplay of biological foundations, research methodologies, and the significant roles that both nature and nurture play in shaping human behavior.

The biological foundations highlighted in this course outline the relationship between physiological processes and psychological phenomena. For instance, the understanding of the nervous system and the role of neurons provides insight into how biological factors, such as genetics and brain structure, influence behavior. The interconnectedness of the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) illustrates how bodily functions can affect emotional and mental states. Furthermore, discoveries in neuroplasticity showcase the brain's ability to adapt and reorganize itself, indicating that experiences can lead to physical changes within the brain, which in turn influences behavior and cognitive functions.

Research methodologies are another cornerstone of psychological study, ensuring that findings are reliable and valid. The different research methods employed—ranging from experiments to observational studies—help psychologists draw meaningful conclusions about behavior and mental processes. For example, understanding the importance of using control groups and experimental groups allows researchers to isolate variables and better understand cause-and-effect relationships. This rigorous approach to research fosters advancements in psychological science, contributing to therapeutic practices and educational strategies that benefit society as a whole.

The nature vs. nurture debate remains central to psychology, investigating the extent to which genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) shape individual traits and behaviors. Evidence from twin studies and adoption research indicates that while genetic inheritance plays a significant role in determining characteristics such as intelligence and temperament, the environment—shaped by culture, family, and personal experiences—also profoundly influences development. The ambiance of one's upbringing, educational opportunities, and even peer relationships can lead to variances in behaviors across individuals with similar genetic backgrounds.

Additionally, the interplay between biological factors and environmental experiences is evidenced in various domains including mental health, learning abilities, and even emotional regulation. For instance, understanding how stress hormones affect brain function elucidates how environmental stressors can lead to mental health challenges, further exhibiting the importance of addressing both biological and environmental concerns in therapeutic settings.

In conclusion, this summary underlines the multifaceted nature of psychology, illustrating that human behavior cannot be attributed solely to either biological or environmental factors. Instead, it calls for a holistic perspective that acknowledges the profound influences of both biological mechanisms and experiential contexts, driving the understanding and application of psychological principles in real-world scenarios. The dynamic interaction between these elements set the stage for continued exploration in psychology, paving the way for innovative research and more effective interventions that encourage personal growth and societal well-being.

Unit 5: Consciousness and the Two-Track Mind

• Consciousness: Awareness of us and everything else as well

Sleep

• Sleep: Periodic and natural loss of consciousness

Every 90 minutes, we complete a full cycle of sleep divided into 4 - 5 parts

• Stage 1: We experience hallucinations, and we feel like we are free-falling

• Stage 2: We experience sleep spindles and we can talk in our sleep sometimes

  • Sleep Spindles are bursts rapid brain wave activities that

    • Debunks the myth that our brains shut off when we go to sleep

• Stage 3/4: We start to emit large delta waves, making it hard to wake up

• Rem sleep: Eyes are moving, this is where we actually dream

  • Rem: Rapid Eye Movement

  • Occurs Multiple times throughout the night

Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia: Having persistent problems with falling or staying asleep

• Narcolepsy: Spontaneously, uncontrollably falling into deep sleep

  • Occurs even while doing important tasks such as cooking, cleaning, driving and even walking

  • Opposite of Insomnia

• Sleep apnea: Your breathing stops during sleep

  • Can wake you up damaging the quality of your sleep

• Night Terrors: Walk around, speak incoherently, appear terrified

  • Different nightmares

  • Ever heard or seen children walking in their sleep, speaking weird, or doing other weird thing? That’s night terrors.

Why We Dream

• To satisfy our wishes that are or seem impossible

• Improve memory

  • They do this by sorting out memory while your asleep

• Help our brains mature

  • Dreams help with this process

Hypnosis

• Hypnosis: Hypnotist suggest to subject that they will experience spontaneous thoughts or behaviors

  • Anyone can experience hypnosis

    • People who tend to do more in imaginative activities are more likely to be affected

      • Various scientists believe in various theories

        • Nothing is solid yet

Drugs

The Major types:

• Depressants

  • Slow down body functions, and calm neural activity

  • Ex: Alcohols, Barbiturates, Tranquilizers, and Opiates such as Heroin

• Stimulants

  • Arouse body functions, excite neural activity

  • Ex: Caffeine, Nicotine, Cocaine, and Ecstasy

  • Opposite of Depressants

• Hallucinogens

  • Evoke sensory images without sensory input

    • Can distort our perceptions

  • Also known as Psychedelics

  • Ex: LSD and Marijuana

• All effect the brain synapses

• Share a common feature: All have immediate “good” effects in the longer run can heavily harm you

  • Get worse after each use

Unit 6: Learning

Learning

• Learning: A relatively permanent behavior change due to experience

• 3 Types of learning:

  • Classical Conditioning:

    • Classical Conditioning is a learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, leading to a learned response. For example, when a bell (neutral stimulus) is repeatedly paired with food (meaningful stimulus), the sound of the bell alone can eventually trigger salivation (learned response) in a dog.

      

    • Key Components:

      • Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that naturally triggers a response without prior learning (e.g., food leading to salivation).

      • Unconditioned Response (UR): The automatic response to the unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation in response to food).

      • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A neutral stimulus that, after being paired with the unconditioned stimulus, elicits a learned response (e.g., a bell when paired with food).

      • Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the conditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation in response to the bell alone).

    • Process: Through repeated pairings of the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus, the organism begins to associate the two, and the conditioned stimulus alone eventually triggers the conditioned response.

  • Operant Conditioning:

    • Operant Conditioning is a learning process where behaviors are shaped by their consequences, meaning that actions followed by positive outcomes are likely to be repeated, while those followed by negative outcomes are less likely. It involves reinforcement (which encourages behavior) and punishment (which discourages behavior), allowing for significant influence in various settings, such as education and therapy.

      

    • Reinforcement: A consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

      • Positive Reinforcement: Adding a favorable stimulus to encourage the behavior (e.g., giving a rat a treat for pulling the lever on command).

      • Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unfavorable stimulus to strengthen the behavior (e.g., turning off a loud alarm when the desired action is performed).

    • Punishment: A consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

      • Positive Punishment: Adding an unfavorable stimulus to discourage a behavior (e.g., scolding a child misbehaving).

      • Negative Punishment: Removing a favorable stimulus to diminish the behavior (e.g., taking away a toy for not sharing).

    • Process: Through operant conditioning, behaviors are shaped by their consequences, allowing significant influence in various settings, including education and behavioral therapy.

  • Observational Learning:

    • Observational Learning, or social learning, is a way of learning by watching how others behave and what happens as a result.

      • This type of learning shows how important social interactions and experiences are in shaping how we act.

      • Key Components:

        • Modeling: The process through which an individual observes and imitates the behavior of a model (e.g., a parent, teacher, or peer).

        • Attention: For observational learning to take place, the learner must pay attention to the model's behavior and its consequences.

        • Retention: The learner must remember the behavior after observing it in order to reproduce it later.

        • Reproduction: The ability to reproduce the observed behavior is necessary for learning to be effective.

        • Motivation: The observed consequences of the behavior (reinforcement or punishment) will influence the likelihood of the observer repeating the behavior.

      • Observational learning highlights the importance of social influences and the capacity for individuals to learn without direct experience, facilitating the transmission of knowledge and behaviors across generations.

      • Examples of Each:

        

Unit 7: Memory

• Memory: Learning that has lasted over time

  • Information can be stored and retrieved

• 3 Stages:

  • Encoding: information goes into the brain

  • Storage: information is saved

  • Retrieval: Getting the information back out

Encoding

• Parallel Processing: Processing multiple parts of a problem at the same time

  • Effortful Processing: Requires conscious effort

    • Ex: If you are trying to learn some new vocab words

  • Automatic Processing: unconscious encoding

    • Ex: Remembering which page the vocab words were on

• Tips for remembering more information:

  • Spend time learning a subject more

  • Make it meaningful

Chunking

• Chunking: Organizing information into familiar, manageable units

  • Ex: Mnemonics

Storage

• Short term memory: 4 chunks at a time

• Long term memory: Limitless Capacity

Implicit vs. Explicit Memory

• Implicit Memory: Remembering how to do something

  • Processed by Cerebellum

  • Ex: Knowing how to rise a bike

• Explicit Memory: Declaring that you know to do something

  • Processed by Hippocampus

  • Amnesia is when you lack Explicit Memory

Context and Retrieval

• Retrieving is easier when you’re in the place/state that you got your information

Forgetting

• 3 types:

  • Encoding failure: Information doesn’t get properly processed into memory

    • Not enough effort to learn

  • Storage decay: Forgetting a lot in the begin but forgetting less later

  • Retrieval failure: Cannot access information in our memory

    • Not enough information to retrieve it

Misinformation Effect

• Misinformation can change the construction of our memory: misinformation effect

Concepts, Categories, Chunking

• Our minds sort all the information inside so that we have easier access to it and it makes it easier to solve problems

  • It groups things it perceives to be similar into “concepts”

    • Ex: Birds

Algorithms & Heuristics

• Algorithms: Step-by-Step processes that guarantee a result

• Heuristics: Mental shortcuts for algorithms

  • Availability Heuristic: What comes to mind quickly is deemed significant, sometimes incorrectly

Language

• Phonemes: Smallest unit of sound

• Morphemes: Smallest unit of sound with meaning

• Languages are learned in stages, whether through observation of others innate biological mechanisms

Conclusion for Part 2

Consciousness is our awareness of ourselves and the world around us. Sleep is a natural state of unconsciousness that follows a 90-minute cycle, including REM sleep, where dreams occur. Sleep disorders such as insomnia (trouble sleeping), narcolepsy (sudden sleep episodes), sleep apnea (breathing interruptions), and night terrors (sudden fear reactions) can impact sleep quality. Dreams may help process memories, fulfill wishes, and support brain development. Hypnosis is a state of heightened suggestibility, though its effectiveness remains debated. Drugs alter consciousness by affecting brain synapses, with depressants slowing functions (e.g., alcohol, heroin), stimulants increasing alertness (e.g., caffeine, cocaine), and hallucinogens distorting perception (e.g., LSD, marijuana), often leading to long-term harm.

Learning is a lasting change in behavior due to experience and occurs through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. Classical conditioning involves associating a neutral stimulus with a meaningful one to elicit a response, as seen in Pavlov’s dog experiment. Operant conditioning is learning through consequences, where reinforcement increases behaviors and punishment decreases them. Positive reinforcement adds a desirable stimulus, while negative reinforcement removes an unpleasant one to encourage behavior. Observational learning, or modeling, occurs by watching and imitating others, with attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation playing key roles. These learning processes shape behaviors in education, therapy, and everyday life.

Memory is the process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information over time. Implicit memory is unconscious and involves skills like riding a bike, processed by the cerebellum, while explicit memory involves conscious recall of facts and events, processed by the hippocampus. Forgetting can occur due to encoding failure (not properly storing information), storage decay (loss of information over time), or retrieval failure (inability to access stored information). Misinformation can distort memories, leading to false recollections. Problem-solving involves algorithms (step-by-step processes) and heuristics (mental shortcuts), while language learning follows structured stages using phonemes (smallest sound units) and morphemes (smallest meaning units) to form communication skills.

Unit 8: Motivation, Emotion, and Stress

Motivation and Instincts

• Motivation: Urge to behave or act in a way that will satisfy certain conditions, such as wishes, desires, or goals

  • Rooted in a basic impulse to optimize our wellbeing, minimize our physical pain, and maximize our pleasure

• Instincts: Rigid pattern of behavior that is seen throughout a species, but is unlearned

• Theories:

  • Instinct Theory

    • Views our instincts as the sole source of our motivations

  • Drive Reduction Theory

    • Physiological need (food) creates an aroused state (hunger) that motivates an organism to satisfy that need (by eating food)

  • Arousal Theory

    • Our need to maintain an optimal level of arousal motivates behaviors that meet no physiological need

  • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

    • Five-tier model of human needs, where people work upwards toward self-actualization

    • Chart

      

      • Tier 1: Physiological Needs

        • Things like Food, Water, and Rest

      • Tier 2: Safety

      • Tier 3: Love/Belonging

        • Ex: Intimate Relationships and Friends

      • Tier 4: Esteem

        • Ex: Feeling of Accomplishment

      • Tier 5: Self-Actualization

        • Ex: Achieving one’s full potential

      • You have to move up the pyramid and satisfy each need before moving on to the next

Hunger Motivation

• Two things make us feel hungry

  • Stomach contractions

  • Low levels of Glucose

• Basal Metabolic Rate:

  • An estimate of how much energy the body burns when you’re resting

• Obesity:

  • When you have a BMI of 30 or higher

• Hypothalamus’ relation with Hunger Motivation:

  • It is one of the most important parts of the brain when it comes to controlling hunger

Sexual Motivation

• Sex hormones:

  • Testosterone for males

    • Provide more muscle

  • Estrogen for females

    • More body mass and body weight

• Sexual Response Cycles:

  • 1) Excitement: Blood Pressure Rises

  • 2) Plateau: Everything continues to increase

  • 3) Orgasm: Rates peak + muscular contractions

  • 4) Resolution: Moments after orgasm when you relax

    • Refractory Period: L for the Boys, W for the Girls

Affiliation and Achievement

• Affiliation Need: The human need to build relationships and feel part of a group

• Ostracism: The act of ignoring and excluding individuals from social groups

  • Mnemonic: Think about an Ostrich

• Achievement Motivations: An individual’s need to meet realistic goals, receive feedback and experience a sense of accomplishment

• Grit: Passion and perseverance when pursuing one’s goals

Theories of Emotions

• James-Lange Theory: We experience a stimulus, Then we get arouse, and Then we feel emotion

• Cannon-Bard Theory: We first experience a stimulus, then we get a physiological response and feeling of emotion at the same time

• Schachter-Singer Theory/Two Factor Theory: To experience emotion, one must be both physically aroused, and able to cognitively label the arousal as something like fear or happiness

Expressing Emotion

• Polygraphs: Measure emotion-linked autonomic arousal as reflected in changed breathing, heart rate, and perspiration

• Fact Feedback Effect: When we express emotion through our facial features

• Behavior Feedback Effect: Behavior Influences our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions

  • Ex: If we smile, we can influence our body to feel happier (basically fake it till you make it)

Stress

• General Adaptation Syndrome: concept of the body’s response to stress in three phases

  • Alarm

  • Resistance

  • Exhaustion

• Tend-and befriend response: Under stress, people often provide support to others (Tend) and bond with and seek support from others (Befriend)

• Psychoneuroimmunology: The study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health

• Type-A people: People who are competitive, impatient, verbally aggressive and anger prone

• Type-B people: Individuals who are easygoing and relaxed

• Catharsis: The idea that “releasing” aggressive energy through action or fantasy relieves us of our aggressive urges

  • Doing thing likes Aerobic Exercise and Mindful Meditation support this idea

Unit 9: Developmental Psychology

Major Questions in Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology seeks to understand the intricate processes that shape human growth and behavior across the lifespan. Three key questions frame this field:

1. Nature vs. Nurture: This fundamental question explores the extent to which genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) influence human development. Are traits and behaviors primarily driven by biology, or do experiences play a larger role in shaping who we are? Research in this area often examines twin studies and adoption scenarios to disentangle these complex interactions.

2. Continuity vs. Stages: This debate considers whether development is a gradual, continuous process or if it happens in distinct stages. Theories such as Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development argue for stage-based development, while others advocate for a more gradual approach.

3. Stability vs. Change: This question examines whether personality traits and behaviors remain stable over time or change dramatically through experiences and age. Longitudinal studies provide valuable insights into how individual characteristics may evolve or persist throughout life.

Prenatal Development

Prenatal development is crucial for laying the foundation for a healthy adult life. It consists of several key stages and terms:

• Zygote: This is the initial stage of human development, formed when a sperm fertilizes an egg. The zygote undergoes rapid cell division as it travels down the fallopian tube toward the uterus.

• Embryo: After approximately 10 days post-conception, the zygote implants itself into the uterine wall and is referred to as an embryo. During this stage, major organs and structures begin to form, and the embryo is particularly vulnerable to environmental influences.

• Fetus: As the embryo develops and enters the fetal stage around the 9th week of gestation, it starts to resemble a human. This stage is marked by significant growth and maturation of bodily systems. The fetus develops the ability to respond to outside stimuli and undergoes various physical transformations as it prepares for birth.

• Teratogen: Teratogens are harmful substances, such as drugs, alcohol, infections, and environmental toxins, that can adversely affect fetal development. Exposure to teratogens can lead to severe developmental issues and congenital disabilities.

• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): This syndrome results from maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy, leading to a range of physical and cognitive impairments in the child, including stunted growth, facial deformities, and brain abnormalities.

Social Development

Social development focuses on how individuals form and maintain relationships across their lifespan. It includes:

1. Secure Attachment: This positive attachment style develops when caregivers are responsive and supportive, leading to children who feel safe and are able to explore their environment confidently. Securely attached individuals typically develop healthier relationships in adulthood.

2. Insecure Attachment: This style arises from inconsistent or neglectful caregiving, resulting in anxiety, ambivalence, or avoidance in relationships later in life. Individuals with insecure attachment may struggle with emotional intimacy and trust.

3. Temperament: Temperament refers to the innate traits that influence how children respond to the world around them. It encompasses various characteristics such as activity level, emotional regulation, and sociability, which can interact with environmental factors to shape personality.

Parenting Styles

Parenting significantly impacts a child's development, and there are three primary styles identified:

1. Authoritarian Parenting: Characterized by high demands and low responsiveness, authoritarian parents enforce strict rules and expect obedience without allowing for open dialogue. This style can lead to children who are obedient but may struggle with self-esteem and social skills.

2. Permissive Parenting: Permissive parents are warm and accepting but impose few demands or limits. They tend to be lenient and often act more like friends than authority figures. Children raised under this style may show a lack of self-discipline and struggle with authority.

3. Authoritative Parenting: This balanced approach combines warmth with high expectations. Authoritative parents set clear boundaries while also encouraging independence and dialogue. Children raised in this environment tend to be more socially competent and to excel academically.

This comprehensive overview of developmental psychology highlights the intricate interplay between genes, environment, and parenting, emphasizing the importance of these factors in shaping individual development.

These units underscore the essential aspects of consciousness, the mechanisms of learning, and the intricate processes of memory.

Consciousness is characterized by our awareness of ourselves and the environment, with sleep and dreams playing a crucial role in our cognitive function. Understanding sleep disorders and the significance of dreams reveals the complexities of our mind’s functioning during rest.

Learning is viewed through different lenses, including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. These processes illustrate how behaviors are acquired and modified through experiences, emphasizing the influence of reinforcement, punishment, and social interactions in behavioral development.

Memory is depicted as a fundamental cognitive function, encompassing the stages of encoding, storage, and retrieval. The exploration of memory processes reveals the dynamics of how information is processed and organized, and the various factors contributing to forgetting and memory distortions.

Together, these units reveal the interconnectedness of cognitive processes, showcasing how our consciousness influences our learning and memory systems, ultimately impacting our behavior and interactions with the world.

Unit 10: Personality

What is Personality?

• Personality: An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking

• Psychodynamic Theories: View personality with a focus on the relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind, and the importance of childhood experiences

• Psychoanalytic Theories: Freud’s theories of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious sexual motives and conflicts

  • Dream interpretation and Free Association

Freud’s Theories of the Mind

• Three Layers of the Mind

  • 1) Conscious (aware)

    • Thoughts/Perceptions

  • 2) Preconscious

    • A little bit of both Conscious & Unconscious

    • Stored knowledge

  • 3) Unconscious (background)

    • Beneath the surface

    • Unacceptable thought, wishes, feelings, and memories

• Three Layers of Personality

  • 1) Id (automatic/irrational)

    • The Pleasure Principle

    • Satisfies basic instincts

  • 2) Ego (executive/mediator)

    • The Reality Principle

    • Judge between Id and Superego

      • Tells which side to listen to

  • 3) Superego

    • Focuses on the decision that is “best” for the individual

    • What is the Ideal situation

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

Defense Mechanisms

Assessing Unconscious Processes

• Projective Tests: Words, images, or situations are presented to a person and the responses are used to understand one’s unconsciousness

  • Rorschach Inkblot test

  • TAT Tests

Neo-Freudian and Later Psychodynamic Theorists

• Neo-Freudian accepted Freud’s ideas except in 2 ways

  • 1) Had more emphasis on the conscious mind

  • 2) Doubted that sex and aggression were all-consuming motivations

  • Basically they agreed with Freud on the importance of childhood experiences and disagreed about sexual tensions

Humanistic Theories of Personality by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

• Humanistic Theories: Viewed personality with a focus on healthy personal growths, self-determinations, and self realization

  • Ex: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Carl Rogers: People are able to grow when they have unconditional positive regard for themselves, genuineness, and empathy

Trait Theory of Personality

• Traits: Stable and enduring pattern of behavior and conscious motives

  • Factor Analysis & Personality Inventory Tests

    • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator / (MBTI)

• 2 Dimensions of Personality

  • (Extroversion-Introversion) (Stable-Unstable)

• Big 5 Personality Factors: Think OCEAN or CANOE To Remember

  

• Traits persist over time, but traits cannot predict behavior in any given situation

Social-Cognitive Theory of personality

• Social Cognitive Theory: Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s social environments (social) and their traits (cognitive)

  • Reciprocal Determinism

    • Learning happens from our environment experiences

Perspectives

How We View Ourselves

• Self-Esteem VS Self Efficacy: Self-esteem is one’s feelings of self-worth while self-efficacy is one’s sense of competence and effectiveness

• Harms of High Self-Esteem

  • Excessive optimism

  • Blindness to one’s own incompetence

  • Self-Serving Bias

  • Narcissism

• Individualism vs Collectivism

  • Individual vs The Group

Conclusion for Units 8-10

Units 8 through 10 explore the complex interplay between motivation, emotion, personality, and their underlying psychological processes. Motivation serves as a driving force behind human behavior, influenced by various theories that encompass physiological needs, social influences, and instinctual drives. Understanding theories such as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs provides insight into how individuals prioritize their needs and strive for self-actualization.

Emotions, deeply intertwined with motivation, are examined through several theories, including the James-Lange Theory and the Schachter-Singer Theory, which highlight the nuanced relationship between physiological arousal and emotional experience. The dynamics of stress and coping mechanisms emphasize the significance of emotional regulation in ensuring overall well-being, where understanding stress responses can foster better mental health management.

Personality is characterized as a stable pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving, shaped by both inherent traits and situational influences. Theories range from psychodynamic perspectives, which stress the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences, to trait theories that classify personality through stable traits like the Big Five personality factors. Social-Cognitive Theory further emphasizes the role of social environments and individual cognition in shaping behavior, thus illustrating the importance of reciprocal determinism.

In summary, these units collectively highlight the multifaceted nature of human behavior, emphasizing that motivation, emotion, and personality are interdependent elements that contribute to the complexity of psychological functioning. The comprehensive understanding of these elements not only enhances psychological theory but also informs practical applications in mental health, education, and personal development.

Unit 11: Testing and Individual Differences

Intelligence and the Spearman, Gardner, and Sternberg Theories

• Intelligence: The ability to solve problems, and the ability to adapt

• Spearman: One general intelligence

  • Theory supported by Thurstone

• Gardner:

  • 8 independent intelligences

  • Savant Syndrome

• Sternberg:

  • 3 intelligences

    • Also known as the Triarchic Theory

    • The 3 intelligences are:

      • Analytical Intelligence

      • Creative Intelligence

      • Practical Intelligence

Intelligence Tests

• Intelligence tests assess cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills to gauge intellectual potential.

  • They focus on different intelligences based on various theories and typically measure verbal, mathematical, and logical reasoning.

• Some of the people who created and were leaders of intelligence tests

  • Francis Galton, who pioneered early testing methods

  • Alfred Binet, who created the first practical IQ test for children

  • Lewis Terman, who adapted Binet's test for American use

  • William Stern(IQ), who contributed to the concept of IQ

  • David Wechsler, known for his widely used intelligence scales for both children and adults

• 3 components to intelligence tests that made them useful:

  • Uniform

    • All were standardized by having the same content, type of questions, formats, and test time length

  • Reliable

    • Measure of consistent the results are, if the test gives similar results if the same person takes it multiple times in multiple conditions

  • Validity

    • Determines whether the test measures what it is supposed to and other factors such as racial background do not matter.

• Crystallized Intelligence vs Fluid Intelligence

  • Crystallized Intelligence is what you know like facts and Fluid Intelligence is what you can come up with like being able to find trends in data

Bias

• Men think their estimate intelligence more than women but males and females score about the same

• There are also environmental factors

• 2 kinds of bias

  • Classical bias which is just bias in the test

  • Innate bias which bias between the writer and the taker

Unit 12: Abnormal Behavior

What are psychological disorders?

• Psychological Disorder: A syndrome, that disrupts an individual’s normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, or interpersonal interactions, and is accompanies by significant distress or dysfunction

• Maladaptive: Thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that:

  • Interfere with day-to-day life

  • Make day-today life harder

Understanding Psychological Disorders

• (Bio)(Psycho)(Social) approach: Our biology, psychology, and the social-cultural factors in our lives interact together to create disorders

• Medical Model: The idea that psychological disorders should be treated as physical diseases - often uses medication as treatment

• DSM-5: A book that helps psychiatrists assess and diagnose mental disorders by listing common symptoms that provide clues to what disorder some has

  • Some controversy over the description of ADHD

Psychological disorders you should know

• Anxiety Disorders: Consistent feeling of anxiety and stress that is way out of proportion to the actual impact of the event, inability to set aside a worry, and restlessness

  • Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, and Phobias

• OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder): Unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead to compulsive behaviors

• PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder): After facing trauma, you continue to experience haunting nightmares, anxiety, and/or insomnia caused by the trauma

• Major Depressive Disorder: A state of hopelessness and lethargy that lasts for several weeks or even months and can lead to suicidal thoughts, and a loss of interest in everyday activities

  • Persistent Depressive Disorder: Similar - Symptoms are milder but they last for much longer period of time

• Bipolar Disorder: The alteration between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited hyperactive state of mania

• Schizophrenia: Breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior that leads to fault perception, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, often results in the hearing of voices that don’t exist in reality

• Somatic Symptom Disorders: Present a somatic symptom - which can’t be medically explained

  • Illness Anxiety Disorder: Where your are convinced you to have have an illness that you simply do not (hypochondriac)

• Dissociative Disorders: A person’s conscious awareness separates from painful memories and results in their brain-altering their reality (multiple-personality disorders)

• Personality Disorders: Disruptive, inflexible, and enduring patterns of behavior that impair social interactions

  • Sociopaths & Psychopaths

• Eating Disorders

  • Anorexia nervosa: In which a person starves themselves despite being significantly underweight

  • Bulimia nervosa: When a person will enter a binge eating to purge to depression cycle

  • Binge-eating disorder: When you eat way too much and then enter a state of remorse

Unit 13: Treatment of Abnormal Behavior

Introduction to Therapy & Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies

• Psychotherapy: Treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interaction between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth

• Biomedical Therapy: Offers medication and other biological treatments that act directly on the person’s psychology

• Eclectic Approaches: Having various forms of therapy

• Psychoanalytic Theory

  • Created by Freud

• Humanistic Therapies:

  • Help to boost self acceptance

Behavior, Cognitive, and Group

• Behavior Therapies

  • Counterconditioning

  • Exposure Therapies

  • Systematic Desensitization

  • Aversive Conditioning

  • Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

• Cognitive Therapies

  • REBT

• Group and Family Therapies

  • Group Interaction

The Biomedical Therapies and Preventing Psychological Disorders

• Biomedical Therapies

  • Antipsychotic Drugs

  • Electroconvulsive Therapy

    • Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

    • Magnetic Stimulation

    • Deep Brain Stimulation

Attribution, Attitudes, and Actions

• Social Psychology: The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to each other basically the psychology of how we interact as a society

• Attribution Theory: The theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s usual way of doing things

• Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency of observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situations and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

• Attitudes: Our feelings which are often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose our reactions to objects, people, and events

  • Peripheral route persuasion: When people are influenced by attention-grabbing statements or celebrities to evoke an emotional response

    • Think of pathos

  • Central route persuasion: When people are influenced more by evidence, statistics, and those good hard facts, and think about respond because of a logical argument for example

    • Think logos

• Actions affect our Attitude

  • Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon: The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger one

  • Cognitive Dissonance Theory: When our attitudes don’t line up with our actions