P SYCHOLOGY Scientific study of behavior and mental process

- Cognitive – how you think- Affective – your feelings, values and attitude- Psychomotor – skills

Four goals:1. Description – tells “what” occurred2. Explanation – “why”3. Prediction – identifies likely occurring future behavior or mental process 4. Applies psychological knowledge to prevent unwanted behavior or reach desired goal

ORIGINS OF PSYCHOLOGY Introspection – Wilhelm Wundt (Father of Psychology); examination of one's own conscious

thoughts and feelings. Structuralism- Edward Titchener; identify the building blocks or structure of the mind

through introspection. Functionalism – William James; how the mind functions to adapt organisms to their

environment) Psychoanalytic/ Psychodynamic Perspective – Sigmund Freud; unconscious processes &

unresolved past conflicts Behavioral Perspective – John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, B.F Skinner; objective, observable

environmental influences on overt behavior Humanistic Perspective – Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow; free will, self-actualization & a

positive, growth-seeking human nature. Cognitive Perspective – thinking, perceiving, problem-solving, memory language & info

processing. Neuroscience – genetics, other biological processes in the brain and parts of the nervous

system. Evolutionary Perspective – natural selection, adaptation & evolution Sociocultural Perspective – social interaction and cultural determinants Biopsychosocial Model; All seven Perspectives (Psychoanalytic to Sociocultural Perspective)

Basic Research – conducted to advance scientific knowledgeApplied Research – designed to solve practical problems

Four Key Research Methods:1. Experimental – scientific procedure that manipulates variables to determine cause & effect

i. Independent Variable – Factor that is manipulatedDependent Variable – Factor that is measured

ii. Experimental Group – receives treatmentControl Group – no treatment

Researcher Problems:- Experiment bias – researcher influences the results in expected direction- Ethnocentrism – believing one’s culture is typical of all cultures

Participant Problems: Sample Bias –participants are unrepresentative of the larger population Participant Bias –participants influenced by researcher or experimental conditions.

2. Descriptive – observes, records behavior without producing explanationa. Naturalistic Observation – recording of behavior in natural stateb. Survey – assessment of sample or populationc. Case study – in-depth study of one participant

3. Correlational – observes two or more variables to find their relationsa. Positive Correlation – variables move to the same direction (up or down)b. Negative – opposite directionsc. Zero – no relationship

4. Biological- scientific study of the brain and parts of the nervous system

Nervous SystemCentral Nervous

System brain & spinal Cord

Brain

interprets and stores information and sends orders to

muscles and glands

Spinal Cord

pathway connecting the

brain and peripheral

nervous system

Peripheral Nervous System

transmits information to and from the central

nervous system

Somatic Nervous System

Carries sensory information and

controls movement of skeletal muscles

Autonomic Nervous SystemAutomatically regulates glands, internal organs, blood vessels, pupil dilation, digestion and

blood pressure

Parasympathetic Division

maintains body functions under ordinary conditions;

saves energy

Sympathetic Division

prepares body to react and expend energy in

times of stress

NEUROSCIENCE Deals with structure and functions of the neurons, nerves and nervous tissue.

Nervous System – extensive network of specialized cells that carry information to and from parts of the body

Neurons – basic cell, makes up the nervous system; receives and sends messages within that systemParts of the neuron:

Dendrites – branch-like, receives messages from other neurons Soma – cell body of the neuron; maintains life of cell Axon – tube-like, carries neural messages to other cells

Other types of Brain Cells: Glial Cells – grey fatty cells that:

- Provide support for the neurons to grow on and around; - Deliver nutrients- Clean up waste products and dead neurons- Produce myelin to coat axons

Neurons in the Body- Nerves – bundles of axons in the body that travel through the body

- Neurilemma – Schwann’s membrane; tunnel where damaged nerve fiber repair themselves

Generating the Message: Neural Impulse Ions – charged particles

o Inside Neuron – negative chargeo Outside Neuron – positive charge

Resting Potential – state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse Action potential – release of neural impulse consisting of several electrical charge in the

axon; allows positive sodium ions to enter the cell All or none – referring to the fact that a neuron either fires completely or not at all. Return to resting potential.

Sending Message to other Cells Axon Terminals – branches at the end of the axon Synaptic Knob – rounded areas on the end of axon terminals Synaptic Vesicles – sack structures, found inside synaptic knob containing chemicals Neurotransmitters – chemicals found in the synaptic vesicles, when released, affects next cell Synapse/ synaptic gap – microscopic fluid-filled space between the rounded areas on the end

of the axon terminals of one cell and the dendrites or surface of the next cell. Receptor sites – holes in the surface of the dendrites or certain cells of the muscles and

glands, shaped to fit certain neurotransmitters.

Neuron Communication - Neurons must be turned on and off- Excitatory neurotransmitter – causes the receiving cell to fire- Inhibitory neurotransmitter – causes the receiving cell to stop firing

Chemical substances can affect neuronal communication- Agonists – mimic or enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter on the receptor sites of the next

cell, increasing or decreasing the activity of that cell.- Antagonist – block or reduce cell’s response to action or chemicals or neurotransmitters.

Types of Neurotransmitters- Acetylcholine –memory and stimulate movement- Serotonin –mood, sleep, appetite- GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) – sleep ad inhibits movement- Glutamate – memory formation- Norepinephrine – arousal and mood- Dopamine – control of movement and sensations of pleasure- Endorphins – pain relief

Cleaning the Synapse- Reuptake – process where neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles- Enzyme – complex protein manufactured by cells

- One type specifically breaks up acetylcholine because muscle activity needs to happen rapidly, so reuptake would be too slow.

Central Nervous System (CNS)Part of the nervous system; brain and spinal cord

- Spinal Cord - long bundle of neurons, carrying messages to and from the body to brain; lifesaving reflexes

Reflexes: 3 types of Neurons1. Sensory/Afferent Neuron – carries information from senses to CNS2. Motor/Efferent Neuron – carries messages from CNS to muscles3. Interneuron center of spinal cord; receives information from sensory neurons and sends

commands to muscles; makes up the bulk of neurons in the brain.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) - All nerves and neurons not in the brain and spinal cord; runs through the body.

Somatic Nervous System - Consisting of nerves carrying information from senses to the CNS and from the

CNS to the voluntary muscles- Soma = body- Sensory pathway – nerves from sensory organs to CNS consisting of sensory

neurons- Motor Pathway – from CNS to voluntary muscles, consisting of motor neurons

Autonomic Nervous System - Nerves that control involuntary muscles, organs and glands sensory pathway

nerves from the sensory organs to CNS consisting of sensory neurons- Sympathetic Division (fight or flight system) – responsible to reacting to stressful

events and bodily arousal- Parasympathetic Division – restores body to normal functioning after arousal and

is responsible for the day-to-day functioning of organs and glands.

Clinical Studies- Deep Lessioning - insertion of a thin, insulated wire in the brain, electrical current destroys

brains cells at the tip of the wire- Electrical Simulation of the Brain – milder electrical current causing neurons to react as if

they had receive a message.- Electroencephalograph (EEG) – machine records the brain wave patterns produced by

electrical activity of the surface of the brain.

o Alpha waves – waves indicate state of light sleep/relaxationo Theta waves – indicates early stages of sleepo Delta waves – long, slow waves; indicates deep stage of sleep

- Computed Tomography (CT) – brain-imaging method using computer controlled X-rays of the brain

- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – brain-imaging method using radio waves and magnetic fields of the body to produce detailed images of the brain.

o Functional MRI (fMRI) – makes ‘movie’ of changes in the acitivity of the brain using images from different time periods.

- Positron emission tomography (PET) – brain-imaging method, radioactive sugar is injected into the subject, a computer compiles a color-coded image of the activity of the brain; lighter colors indicating more activity.

Brain Stem- Medulla – large swelling at the top of the spinal cord, lowest part of the brain; responsible for

life-sustaining functions (breathing, swallowing and heart rate)- Pons – larger swelling above medulla, connects top of brain to the bottom; plays a part in

sleep, dreaming, left-right coordination and arousal- Reticular Formation (RF) – an area of neurons running through the middle of the medulla and

the pons and slightly beyond that is responsible for selective attention- Cerebellum – located behind pons; controls involuntary, rapid, fine motor movement.

Cortex - Covering of brain, consists of packed neurons, responsible for higher thought processes and interpretation of sensory input.

- Corticalization – wrinkling of cortex; allows large area of cortical cells to exist in small spaces.

Structures under Cortex- Limbic System – group of brain structures; memory, learning, emotion and motivation.

Thamalus – center of the brain; relays sensory information from lower part of brain to proper areas of the cortex, processes sensory information before sending it

Olfactory Bulbs – two projections uder from of brain; receive information from receptors in the nose.

Hypothamalus – small structure located below thamalus, above pituitary glances; responsible for motivational behavior (sleep, hunger, thirst and sex)

Hippocampus- curved structure located within temporal lobes; forms long-term memories and the storage of memory for location of objects

Amygdala – near hippocampus; fear responses and memory of fear.

Cerebral Hemispheres - Sections of the cortex on the left and right sides of the brain.- Corpus Calosum – thick band of neurons, connects right and left cerebral hemispheres.

Four Lobes of the Brain1. Occipital Lobe – rear and bottom of cerebral hemisphere; visual centers of brain

a. Primary visual cortex – processes visual informationb. Visual Association cortex – identifies and makes sense of visual information

2. Parietal Lobes – top and back of cerebral hemisphere; centers for touch, taste and sensations.a. Somatosensory Cortex – neurons running down the pront of parietal lobes; processes

information from skin and internal body receptors.3. Temporal Lobes – behind the temples; sense of hearing and speech

a. Primary Auditory cortex – processes auditory informationb. Auditory Association cortex – identifies and makes sense of information

4. Frontal lobes – front and top of brain; responsible for higher mental processes and decision making as well as production of fluent speech

a. Motor cortex – section of the frontal lobe located at the back; sending motor commands to the muscles or somatic nervous system

Association Areas of Cortex

- Association Areas – within lobes of the cortex; coordinates and interprets information & high processing

- Broca’s aphasia – damage of Broca’s area (left frontal lobe); unable to speak fluently, mispronounce words, speak haltingly

- Wernicke’s Aphasia – damage of Wernicke’s area (left temporal lobe); unable to understand or produce meaningful language

- Spatial Neglect – damage to association areas of right hemisphere; the inability to recognize objects or body parts in the left visual field.

Split Brain Research- Cerebrum – upper part of brain; consists of two hemispheres and structure connecting them- Split Brain Research –study of patients with severed corpus callosum; sending messages to

only one side of the brain; demonstrates right and left brain specialization- Left side of brain

o controls language, writing, logical thought, analysis and mathematical abilitieso processes information sequentiallyo can speak

- Right side of braino Expressions, spatial perception, face recognition, patterns, melodies, emotionso Processes information globallyo Cannot speak

The Endocrine Glands - Glands that secrete chemicals called hormones directly to bloodstream- Pituitary gland – secretes human growth hormone and influences hormone-secreting glands

(aka master gland)- Pineal gland – secretes melatonin; near the base of the cerebrum- Thyroid gland – regulates metabolism; in the neck- Pancreas – controls sugar in blood- Gonads – sex glands secretes hormones that regulate sexual development and behavior as

well as reproduction. Ovaries (female gonads) & Testes (male gonads)- Adrenal Glands – located on top of kidneys, secrets different hormones; deals with stress,

regulate salt intake, provide secondary sex hormones affecting sexual changes in adolescence

SENSATION AND PERCEPTIONSensation - Activation of receptors in various sense organs

- Sensory receptors – specialized forms of neurons- Sense organs – eyes, ears, nose, skin & taste buds

Sensory thresholds- Just noticeable difference (jnd or the difference threshold) smallest difference between two

stimuli that is detectable 50% of the time- Absolute threshold – smallest amount of energy for a person to consciously detect a stimulus

50% of the time it is present.

Subliminal sensation Subliminal stimuli- Stimuli that are below the level of conscious awareness

o Strong enough to activate sensory receptors but not strong for people to be aware o Limin – ‘threshold’o Sublimin – ‘below the threshold'

Subliminal perception – why stimuli act upon unconscious mind; influencing behavior

Habituation- Tendency of brain to stop attending to constant, unchanging information

Sensory adaptation- Tendency of sensory receptors cells to become less responsive to unchanging stimulus.

Saccades

- movement of eyes: unnoticeable vibrations; prevents sensory adaptation to visual stimulus.Psychological Aspects to light

Brightness – determine b the amplitude of the wave – how high or low the wave is. Higher wave = brighter lights

Color – length of wave. o Visible spectrum - Long wavelengths = red end, short = blue end; portion of whole

spectrum of light visible to human eye. Saturation – refers to purity of color people see; mixing in black or grey lessens saturation

Structure of eye Cornea – cleared membrane that covers surface of the eye; protect the eye and structure that

focuses most of the light coming to the eye. Radial kerototomy- vision- improving technique, making small incisions in the cornea to

change the focus in the eye Aqueous humor – next visual layer; clear, watery fluid replenished and supplies nourishment

to the eye Pupil – where light from visual image enters the interior of eye. Iris – round muscle where pupil is located; focuses images; lets more or less light; can change

size of pupil Lens – clear structure behind iris; finished focusing process begun by cornea Visual accommodations – change in thickness of lens as the eye focuses on near or far objects Vitreous humor- jelly- like fluid; nourishes the eye and gives its shape. Retina – stop for light in the eye, contains 3 layers

o Ganglion cells, bipolar cells, photoreceptors that respond to various light waves Rods – responsible for noncolor sensitivity to low levels of light; visual sensory receptors Cones – responsible for color vision and sharpness of vision Blind spot – area in the retina where axons of the 3 layers of retinal cells exit the eye to form

optic nerve, insensitivity to light.

How the eyes work Dark adaptation – recovery of eye’s sensitivity to visual stimuli in darkness after

exposure to light Light adaptation – darkness to bright light

Trichromatic theory – three types of cones: red, blue and greenAfterimages – images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed.Opponent- process theory – theory of color vision that proposes four primary colors with cones arranges in pairs : red and green, blue and yellow. Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of thalamus

Color blindness Monochrome blindness- no cones or cones that are not working Red-green color blindness- red or green cones not working Sex-linked inheritance

Psychological properties of sound Wavelength – frequency or pitch (high, medium, low) Amplitude- volume (softness, loudness) Purity – timbre (tone of sound) Hertz (Hz) – waves per second, measurement of frequency

Structure of ear Auditory canal – short tunnel that runs from pinna to the eardrum (tympanic membrane) Eardrum – thin skin that tightly covers opening into middle part of the ear; when sound waves

hit, the eardrum vibrates along with three bones; hammer, anvil and stirrup. Cochlea – snail- shaped; in the inner ear filled with fluid. Organ of corti – in basilar membrane; has receptor cells for hearing.

Auditory nerve – axons from hair cells in inner ear; receives neural message from organ of corti.

Theories of pitch Pitch – corresponds to frequency of sound waves; higher frequency=higher pitch Place theory – different pitches are experience by stimulation of hair cells in locations on the

organ of corti Frequency theory – pitch is related to vibration’s speed in basilar membrane. Volley principle – frequencies above 100 Hz cause hair cells (auditory neurons) to fire in a

volley pattern.

Types of hearing impairments Conduction hearing impairment:

o Damaged eardrum – prevent sound waves from middle earo Damaged middle ear bones – sounds from eardrum cannot go to the cochlea.

Nerve-hearing impairment:o Damage in inner ear o Damage in auditory pathways and cortical areas of brain.

Taste taste buds – receptors in mouth; sense of taste Gustation – sensation of taste Five basic tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and brothy

Smell Olfaction (olfactory sense)- sense of smell Olfactory bulbs – above sinus cavity, below frontal lobes; receive information from receptor

cells There are 1000 olfactory receptors

Somesthetic sensesSenses consisting of skin senses, kinesthetic sense and vestibular senses

o Soma – bodyo Esthetic – feeling

1. Skin senses – touch, pressure, temperature and paina. Sensory receptors in skinb. Gate-control theory – pain signals must pass through a gate in the spinal cord.

2. Kinesthetic sense – sense of location of body parts in relation to the ground and each other.3. Vestibular senses – movement, balance, body position

Perception and constancies Perception- methods - where sensations experiences are interpreted and organized in some

meaningful fashion Size constancy – interpret an objects size being the same, regardless the distance Shape constancy – interpret shape of an object as being constant, even if changed in the retina brightness constancy –perceiving object’s brightness as the same when light condition change

Gestalt principles Figure-ground – perceive objects as existing on background Reversible figures – visual illusions where figure and ground can be reversed Similarity – perceive objects that look similar as being part of same group Proximity – perceive objects close to each other as part of same group Closure – complete figures that are incomplete Continuity –perceive things simple as possible w/ continuous patters than broken-up patterns Contiguity – perceive things that happen close together in time as being related

Depth perceptionAbility to perceive the world in three dimensionsStudies include – visual cliff experiment

Monocular cuesCues for perceiving depth based on one eye only

1. Linear perspective – parallel lines to appear converge on each other 2. Relative size – occurs when objects appears smaller than expected, thus assumed farther away3. Interposition (overlap) – an object appears to be blocking part of another object is in front of

the second object and closer to the viewer.4. Aerial perspective – haziness surrounds far objects causing distance to be perceived greater5. Texture gradient – textured surfaces to appear to become small and finer as distance increases6. Motion parallax – close objects appear to move faster than objects farther away.7. Accommodation – changing thickness of lens of the eye in response to looking at objects

close or far. Binocular cuesPerceiving depth on both eyes

1. Convergence – rotation of eyes to focus on an object; greater convergence for closer objects2. Binocular disparity – difference in images between two eyes; greater for close objects

Perceptual illusions Müller-Lyer illusion – illusion of line length with inward-turning or outward-turning corners

on the ends of the lines, causing lines of equal length to appear different Moon illusion – moon on horizon larger than moon in sky Illusions of Motions:

o Autokinetic effect – small, stationary nonmoving light appears to be moving because no surrounding cues.

o Stroboscopic motion – still pictures appear to be in motiono Phi phenomenon – lights on in a sequence appear to move

Factors that influence Perception Perceptual set (perceptual expectancy) –perceive things a certain way because previous

experiences or expectations influence those perception Top-down processing- using preexisting knowledge Bottom-up processing – analysis of small features to a complete perception

Applying Psychology Extrasensory Perception – perceiving without use of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell Telepathy – mind reading Clairvoyance – see things not present Precognition – knowing in advance or predicting future events

CONSCIOUSNESSPerson’s awareness of things around him or her

Waking consciousness – thoughts, feelings, sensations are clear; person’s alert Altered state of consciousness – shift in quality or pattern of mental activity Circadian Rhythm – body cycle that occurs over 24-hour period

o Circa – about; diem – Day Hypothalamus – sections of brain that influences glandular system

o Suprachiasmatic nucleus – inside hypothalamus; tells when to awaken or sleep; tells pineal gland to secrete melatonin, which makes people sleepy

Microsleep – sleep lasting few seconds Sleep deprivation – loss of sleep, resulting in concentration and irritability problems Adaptive theory –sleep patterns to avoid predators by sleeping when predators most active Restorative theory –sleep is necessary for health, replenishes chemicals and repairs cell

damage

Stages of Sleep Rapid Eye Movement – (REM) eyes moving under eyelids in sleep; experiencing a dream NREM (non-REM) sleep – any sleep without REM

o NREM Stage One – light sleep Hypnagogic images- vivid visual events Hypnic Jerk – body part or whole body jerks

o NREM stage two – sleep spindles (brief activity lasting seconds)o NREM three and four – Delta Waves

Deep sleep = 50%+ are delta waves

Stage four disorders Sleep disorder Sleepwalking (somnambulism) – episode of moving or walking around while sleeping Night Terrors – extreme fear and screams around during sleep without waking fully

REM Sleep and Dreaming REM sleep – paradoxical sleep; high level of brain activity REM rebound – increased REM after deprivation of REM sleeps Nightmares – bad dreams during REM REM Behavior disorder – movement of voluntary muscles isn’t blocked causing involuntary

movements

Problems during sleep Insomnia – inability to sleep or stay asleep Sleep apnea – persons stops breathing Narcolepsy – falls into REM sleep without warning Cataplexy – loss of muscle tone

Dreams Freud – dreams as wish fulfillment

o Manifest content – dreamo Latent content – meaning of dream

Activation-synthesis hypothesis – dreams created by higher centers of cortex to explain activation by the brain stem of cortical cells during REM sleep periods

Activation-information-mode model – dreams accessed during waking hours have influence on synthesis dreams.

HypnosisState in which person is susceptible to suggestion

Four elements - Hypnotist tells person to focus on what is said- Told to relax and feel tired- Told to let go and accept suggestions easily- Use vivid imaginations

Hypnotic susceptibility – degree to which a person is good hypnotic subject Theories of hypnosis

o Hypnosis as dissociation – hypnosis in a peron’s immediate consciousness while observes remains aware

o Social-cognitive theory of hypnosis – subject merely playing the role expected

Psychoactive DrugsAlter thinking, perception and memory

Physical dependence o Tolerance – more drugs is needed to feel same effect

o Withdrawal – lack of addictive drug; nausea, pain, tremors, crankiness Psychological dependence – drug is needed to feel emotional or psychological well-being

Stimulants - Drug increases function of nervous system Amphetamines – synthesized drugs Cocaine- natural; produces euphoria, energy, power and pleasure Nicotine – in tobacco Caffeine – coffee, tea, sodas, chocolates

Depressants – decrease functions of nervous system Barbituates – sedative effect Benzodiazepines – lower anxiety and stress

Alcohol – from fermentation or distillation of various vegetable matter; depressant

Narcotics – opium-related drug; suppresses pain; binds and stimulates receptors for endorphins Opium – all narcotic drugs from opium poppy Morphine – treat pain Heroin – extremely addictive

Psychogenic DrugsProduce hallucination or feeling of relaxation and intoxication

Hallucinogens – alters reality; false sensory messges Lysergic acid diethylamide – synthetic hallucinogen PCP – stimulant, depressant, narcotic; animal tranquilizer MDMA (ecstasy or X) – stimulant and hallucinogen Stimulatory Hallucinogenic – stimulant and hallucinogen Mescaline – natural hallucinogen derived from the peyote cactus buttons Psilocybin – natural hallucinogen from mushrooms

Marijuana (pot/weed) – mild hallucinogen from leaves and flowers of a hemp plant

LEARNINGAny relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice - Change in behavior is learning

Ivan Pavlov – Russian physiologist (studies workings of body); discovered classical conditioning through his digestion in dogs work

Classical ConditioningReflex response to a stimulus other than natural stimulus normally produces the reflex

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) = natural stimulus leads to involuntary response; unconditioned means unlearned

Unconditioned Response (UCR) – involuntary response to natural or unconditioned stimulus Conditioned stimulus (CS) - stimulus that produces learned reflex response by being paired

with original unconditioned stimulus; conditioned means learnedo a neutral stimulus can become conditioned stimulus when paired with UCS

Conditioned response/reflex (CR) – learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulusEXAMPLE:

1. UCS: loud noise UCR: StartledCS: Bunny Rabbit UCS: Loud Noise UCR: StartledCS: Bunny Rabbit CR: Startle

2. UCS: Dog bite UCR: FrightenedCS: Sight of Dog UCS: Dog Bite UCR: Frightened

CS: Sight of Dog CR: Frightened

Classical Conditioning concepts1. CS is before UCS2. CS and UCS come close in time; seconds apart3. Neutral stimulus is paired with UCS several times before conditioning takes place4. CS stimulus is distinctive and stands out from competing stimuli

Stimulus generalization – tendency to respond to a stimulus similar to original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response

Stimulus discrimination – tendency to stop generalized response to stimulus similar to the original conditioned stimulus; similar stimulus is never paired with unconditioned stimulus

Extinction – weakening of a learned response following absence of UCS or removal of reinforcer

Reinforcer – event or object that increases likelihood of response occurring again. Spontaneous recovery – reappearance of learned response after extinction; learning relatively

permanent change in behavior Higher-order conditioning – strong conditioned stimulus is paired with neutral stimulus,

causing neutral stimulus to become second conditioned stimulus

Conditioned Emotional Response - Emotional response classically conditioned to occur to learned stimuli, such as fear of dogs or emotional reaction when seeing attractive people

CERs may lead to phobias – irrational fear responses

Taste Aversion Vicarious conditioning – classical conditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching

reactions of others Conditioned taste aversion – development of aversion or nausea to taste because taste was

followed by nausea reaction, occurred after one association Biological preparedness – animals tend to learn associations such as taste with one or few

pairings due to survival value of learning.

Stimulus substitution – theory which Pavlov stated classical conditioning occurred because conditioned stimulus became a substitute for the unconditioned stimulus by being paired close together.

Cognitive Perspective – modern theory; classical conditioning occurs because conditioned stimulus provides information or expectancy about coming of the unconditioned stimulus

Operant conditioning - Learning voluntary behavior through effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses.

Thorndike’s Law of Effect – states a response is followed by pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated; if followed by unpleasant consequence, will not be repeated

Skinner’s Contribution- Behaviorist – studies observable behavior- Gave ‘operant conditioning’ its name- Learning depends after consequence or response

Reinforcement - Event or stimulus increases the probability that the response will occur again Primary reinforcer – meeting basic biological need (hunger, thirst) Secondary reinforcer – becomes reinforcing after being paired with primary reinforcer, like

praise Positive Reinforcement – response by addition or experiencing pleasurable stimulus Negative Reinforcement – response by removal, avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus

Shaping – reinforcement of simple steps in behavior that lead to a desired, more complex behaviorSuccessive approximations – small steps in behavior, one after the other, leads to a goal behavior.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Partial reinforcement effect – tendency for a response that is reinforced after some correct responses to be very resistant to extinction

Continuous reinforcement – reinforcement of each and every correct response Fixed ratio schedule or reinforcement –number of responses needed for reinforcement is same Variable ratio schedule of reinforcement – number of responses required for reinforcement is

different for each trial Fixed interval schedule – interval of time must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is

always the same Variable interval schedule of reinforcement – interval of time must pass before reinforcement

becomes possible is different each trial or event

PunishmentAny event or object that makes response less likely to happen

Punishment by application – response by adding or experiencing unpleasant stimulus Punishment by removal – response by removing pleasurable stimulus.

Make punishment more effective:1. Given immediately after punishable behavior2. Should be consistent3. Wrong behavior Paired with reinforcement of right behavior

Operant stimulus and Stimulus control Discriminative stimulus – fail provides cues for making responses to obtain reinforcement;

like stop signs and doorknobs

Instinctive drift- tendency to revert to genetically controlled pattern- Instincts differ from each species

Behavior modification - Use of operant conditioning techniques to bring desired change in behavior- Token Economy – behavior is rewarded with tokens- Time out – mild punishment; placed in an area away from the attention of others; essentials,

being removed from positive reinforcement in the form of attention- Applied Behavior analysis (ABA) – modern term for a behavior modification; uses shaping

techniques to mold behavior

Biofeedback – use of feedback about conditions to bring involuntary responses like blood pressure and relaxation under voluntary control

Neurofeedback – uses brain-scanners to provide feedback about brain activity to modify behavior

Cognitive Learning Theory- Early days of learning - focus on behavior- 1950-1960’s – cognition shouldn’t be ignored- Edward Tolman – early cognitive scientist

Latent Learning - Hidden learning until it becomes useful; Tolman’s rat and maze experiment:1. First group; rewarded every day at end of maze; learned maze quickly2. 2nd ; rewarded on 10th day; demonstrated learning of maze after receiving award3. 3rd; never rewarded; didn’t learn maze well

Learned Helplessness –fail to act to escape situation because of repeated failures in the past

Insight –perception of relationships among various parts of a problem; solutions comes quick; cannot be gained through trial or error

Observational learning – learning by watching the performance

Learning/performance distinction – referring to the observation that learning can happen w/o actual performance of learned behavior

Four Elements of observational Learning1. Attention – learn through observations2. Memory – retain memory of what was done3. Imitation – reproducing actions of model4. Motivation – desire to perform action

MEMORYActive system receives information from senses, organizes and alters it as it stores it away then retrieves information from storage

Processeso Encoding – set of mental operations performed on sensory information to convert that

information into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage systemso Storage – storing information for some period of timeo Retrieval – getting information stored into form that can be used

Models of Memory Information-processing model – models of memory; assumes processing of information for

memory storage is similar to computer processes memory in series of stages Levels-of-processing model – information processed according to its meaning rather than

sound or physical characteristics of the word; will be remembered for longer period of time. Parallel Distributed processing (PDP) model – memory processes proposed to take place at

same time over a large network of neural connections

Sensory MemoryFirst stage of memory; information enters nervous system through sensory systems

Iconic memory – visual sensory memory, lasts a fraction of a secondo Capacity – everything seen at one timeo Duration – will be pushed out quickly by new information, process called maskingo Eidetic imagery – rare ability to acces a visual memory for 30 seconds or more

Echoic memory – brief memory of something a person heardo Capacity –heard at any moment and is smaller than capacity of iconic memoryo Duration – lasts longer than iconic – 2 to 4 secons

Short-term Memory (STM)(Working memory) - Information is held for brief period of time while being used

Selective attention – focus on one stimulus from all sensory input Digit-span test – series of numbers is read to subjects who are then asked to recall numbers in

order Chunking – bits of information combined to meaningful units or chunks so information is

held in STM Maintenance rehearsal 0 saying information to be remembered over and over in order to

maintain it in short-term memory Duration of STM – 12-30 seconds without rehearsal STM is susceptible to interference ( counting is interrupted; have to start again)

Long-term memory (LTM) -Information is placed to be kept permanent Elaborative rehearsal – transferring information from STM by making information

meaningful Types:

o Procedural memory – memory for skills, procedures, habits and responses. Not conscious but implied to exist because affect conscious behavior; skills people know

- Anterograde amnesia – loss of memory from the point of injury or inability to form new long-term memories. Does not affect procedural LTM

- Procedural Memory aka Implicit memory – not easily brought into conscious awareness

o Declarative memory – contains conscious and known information (memory for facts)- Semantic memory – contains general knowledge- Episodic memory – contains personal information not available to others- Semantic and episodic are forms of explicit memory – consciously known

Organization of Memory Semantic network model – assumes information is stored in brain in a connected fashion, with

related concepts stored close together than retrieval cue stimulus for remembering.

Retrieval cue – stimulus for remembering

Encoding specificity – information improved if related info available when memory is first formed or retrieved.

State-dependent learning – memories formed during particular psychological state will be easier to recall while in similar state

Recall - Information to be retrieved must be pulled from memory with very few external cues Retrieval failure – recall failed. (tip of tongue) Serial position effect - the beginning and end of information remembered more accurately

than middle informationo Primacy effect – remembering beginning of informationo Recency effect – end of body of information remembered

Recognition -Ability to match piece of information to a stored image or fact False positive – error of recognition; recognize stimulus not actually in memory

Automatic encoding – enter long-term memory with little or no effortful encoding

Flashbulb memories – occurs because unexpected event has emotional association for the person remembering it

Constructive processing - Retrieval of memories; memories altered or influenced by new information

Hindsight bias – tendency to falsely believe, though revision of older memories to include newer information, that one could have correctly predicted outcome of an event.

Misinformation effect – tendency of misleading information presented after an event to alter the memories of the event itself.

False memory syndrome – creation of inaccurate/ false memories through other’s suggestion, often person is under hypnosis

Curve of Forgetting – graph showing distinct pattern which forgetting is very fast within first hour after learning a list then tapers of gradually.

Encoding Failure – failure to process information to memory

Memory trace physical change in brain; occurs when memory is formed

Decay – loss of memory due to the passage of time, memory trace not used Disuse – assuming memories are not used will eventually decay or disappear

Proactive Interference – memory retrieval problem occurs when old information interferes with retrieval of new information

Retroactive interference – new information interferes with retrieval of old information

Formation of LTMS Engram – physical change in brain when memory is formed Consolidation – change of structure and functioning of neurons when engram is formed Hippocampus – responsible of LTMs

Amnesia Retrograde amnesia – loss of memory for the past Anterograde amnesia - inability to form new long-term memories Infantile amnesia – inability to remember memories before age 3 Autobiographical memory – events and facts related to one’s personal life story after age 3

Alzheimer’s DiseaseAnterograde amnesia is present, although retrograde can occur.