PSYC101-fall2024-AB3-FinalRev_1_

PSYC 101 Final Review Overview

  • This document highlights key ideas discussed in lecture, which may overlap with textbook content.

  • Focus on defining terms, explaining concepts, and providing examples as needed.

Learning

  • Definition of Learning: A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge due to experience.

  • Role of Culture in Learning: Cultural background influences learning styles and interpretation.

  • Sensitization and Habituation: Sensitization is an increase in reaction to repeated stimulus; habituation is a decrease in response to repeated stimulus.

  • Behaviourism and Key Features: Focuses on observable behavior. Key concepts include:

    • Classical Conditioning:

      • Basic components: Unconditioned stimulus/response, conditioned stimulus/response.

      • Key principles: Acquisition, extinction, generalization, discrimination.

      • Extinction: Conditioned reactions become weaker over time.

      • Therapeutic applications: Exposure therapy for phobias.

    • Operant Conditioning:

      • Definition: Learning through consequences of behaviour.

      • Role of reinforcement (positive/negative) and punishment.

      • Types of Reinforcers: Primary and secondary.

      • Reinforcement schedules: Fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, variable-interval (each with strengths/weaknesses).

      • Applications: Behavior modification in various settings.

  • Role of Biology in Learning: Biological factors can influence learning processes (e.g., brain structures, neurotransmitters).= hippocampus plays a role in long-term memory processes.

  • Role of Cognition in Learning: Cognitive processes affect how information is acquired and utilized.

  • Observational Learning:

    • Definition: Learning by observing others.

    • Imitation and social learning: Kids learn behaviours by watching adults.

    • Vocal learning: Important for language development and communication among species.

    • ex: bobo doll also relates to social observational theory.

Memory

  • Definition of Memory: The process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information.

  • Modal Model of Memory: Composed of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

  • Types of Long-Term Memory: Explicit (declarative) versus implicit (non-declarative) memory.

  • Influences on Encoding: Factors that enhance or impede the ability to encode information (e.g., attention, emotional state).

  • How Memories are Stored: Various pathways and methods for storing information within the brain.

  • Influences on Retrieving Information: Context, cues, and retrieval success can vary.

  • Flashbulb Memories: Highly detailed and vivid memories of significant events, often tied to emotional responses.

  • Theories of Forgetting: Include decay theory, interference theory (proactive & retroactive).

  • Types of Amnesia:

    • Retrograde: Loss of past memories.

    • Anterograde: Inability to form new memories.

  • Biology of Forgetting:

    • Hippocampus: Critical for forming new long-term memories.

    • Long-Term Potentiation (LTP): Strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity.

Language

  • Definition of Language: A system of symbols and rules used for communication.

  • Mental Representation: The way information is stored and processed in the brain.

  • Evolutionary Origin of Language: The development and adaptation of language throughout human history.

  • Properties and Structure of Language:

    • Five Key Properties: Productivity, discreteness, duality of patterning, cultural transmission, and arbitrariness.

    • Surface vs. Deep Structure: Distinction between literal meaning and underlying meaning.

    • Components of Language: Phonetics, syntax, semantics, pragmatic elements.

    • Hierarchical Nature: Language is structured in levels (phonemes, morphemes, words, sentences).

  • Bottom-up vs. Top-down Processing: Bottom-up uses incoming data; top-down involves existing knowledge.

Thought

  • Types of Thought:

    • Propositions: Declarative statements.

    • Imagery: Mental visuals.

    • Concepts: Mental categories for objects and ideas.

  • Types of Reasoning:

    • Deductive: General to specific.

    • Inductive: Specific to general.

  • Factors Affecting Reasoning: Cognitive biases and heuristics can impact reasoning outcomes.

  • Dual Coding Theory: Information is better retained when both verbal and visual forms are used.

  • Brain-Computer Interfaces:

    • Definition: Systems that interpret brain activity for direct communication with external devices.

    • Examples: Applications in prosthetics and communication for individuals with disabilities.

    • Significance: Enhances understanding of thought and behavior.

Circadian Rhythms and Sleep

  • Definition of Circadian Rhythm: Biological processes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle.

  • Biology of Circadian Rhythms:

    • Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN): The brain's master clock regulating rhythms.

    • Zeitgeber: External cues (e.g., light) affecting rhythms.

    • Entrainment: The process of synchronizing biological rhythms to an external environment.

    • Pathway from Eye to SCN: Photoreceptors send light information to the SCN.

  • Free-Running Circadian Rhythms: Natural rhythms in the absence of external cues (implications for sleep-wake cycles).

  • Chronotype: Individual variations in sleep-wake preferences influenced by genetics and lifestyle.

  • Methods for Studying Sleep: Polysomnography, self-reports, and behavioral observations.

  • Sleep Stages:

    • Neural “signatures”: Brain wave patterns associated with each stage (e.g., delta waves in deep sleep).

    • Behavioral correlates: Changes in responsiveness and arousal levels during different stages of sleep.

  • Slow-wave vs. REM Sleep: Slow-wave sleep is restorative; REM is associated with dreaming.

  • Sleep Cycles: Patterns of sleep through the night and changes throughout the lifespan.

  • Effects of Sleep Deprivation: Can impact cognitive function, mood, and physical health.

  • Reasons We Sleep (4):

    • Restoration: Body and brain repair processes.

    • Memory consolidation: Sleep helps integrate learning and memories.

    • Energy conservation: Reduces energy needs during inactive periods.

    • Brain plasticity: Essential for development and learning.

  • Sleep Disorders:

    • Insomnia: Definition, prevalence, and treatment options.

    • Narcolepsy: Chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness.

    • REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: Individuals physically act out their dreams.

    • Note: Other disorders covered in the textbook.

Consciousness and Drugs

  • Definition of Consciousness: Awareness of self and surroundings.

  • Key Properties: Subjective experience, varying levels of awareness.

  • Psychodynamic vs. Cognitive Views: Differences in understanding consciousness and unconscious processes.

  • Role of Attention in Consciousness: Focus determines what enters consciousness.

  • Measuring Consciousness: Methods include:

    • Self-report: Subjective accounts from individuals.

    • Neuroimaging: Tools to visualize brain activity.

    • Behavioral measures: Observable behaviors indicating consciousness levels.

  • Biology of Consciousness:

    • Role of Neural Networks: Interconnected neurons responsible for processing information.

    • Modular Brain/Mind: Different brain regions serve specific cognitive functions.

  • Biochemistry of Drug Effects:

    • Neurotransmitters and receptors: Key players in the functioning of the nervous system.

    • Agonist Drugs: Define and explore their effects (mimicking neurotransmitters, blocking reuptake, etc.).

    • Antagonist Drugs: Define and explore their effects (blocking receptors, inhibiting effects of neurotransmitters).

  • Drug Tolerance: The reduced response to drugs over time due to compensatory mechanisms.

  • Withdrawal: Physical and psychological symptoms resulting from discontinuation of a drug, related to tolerance.

  • Role of Learning in Tolerance: Conditioning can influence tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.

  • Classes of Drugs: General effects and specific examples:

    • Depressants: Decrease neural activity (e.g., alcohol).

    • Stimulants: Increase neural activity (e.g., caffeine, cocaine).

    • Hallucinogens: Alter perceptions (e.g., LSD).

  • Behavior in a Social Context:

    • Advantages of being a social species include collaboration and survival benefits.

Attributions

  • Types of Attributions: Internal vs. external. Understanding behavior through different lenses.

  • Criteria for Attributions: Consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus.

  • Fundamental Attribution Error: Tendency to overemphasize personal traits in others’ behaviors.

  • Self-Serving Bias: Favoring internal attributions for successes and external for failures.

  • Primacy and Recency Effects in Judgments: The order of information presented impacts perception and memory.

  • Role of Schema and Mental Sets:

    • Expectations shape interpretations and judgments.

    • Stereotypes: Overgeneralized beliefs about a group.

    • Self-fulfilling Prophecies: Expectations that influence outcomes.

Attitudes and Social Influence

  • Definition of Attitudes: Evaluative judgments (positive or negative) about objects, people, or ideas.

  • Theory of Planned Behavior: Intention is influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.

  • Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort from holding conflicting attitudes, leading to attitude change.

  • Self-Justification: Rationalizing one's behavior to maintain self-consistency.

  • Social Facilitation Effect: Presence of others enhances performance on tasks that are simple or well-learned.

  • Social Norms and Social Roles:

    • Define: Shared expectations about behavior in specific contexts.

    • Examples: Gender roles, professional responsibilities.

    • Benefits/Drawbacks: Social cohesion vs. conformity pressures.