Psychology: Growth Mindset and Brain Function

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Questions and Answers

Which statement best describes the growth mindset?

It suggests that abilities are fixed and cannot change.

It discourages the idea of learning through failures.

It emphasizes the importance of natural talent over effort.

It is the belief that effort can improve talents through neuroplasticity. (correct)

How does fMRI contribute to our understanding of brain activity?

It measures the electrical activity in neurons during tasks.

It provides a static image of the brain's structure.

It measures blood flow changes correlating with brain activity. (correct)

It only measures the size of different brain regions.

What is a result of damage to the orbitofrontal cortex as seen in Phineas Gage?

Decreased impulsivity and better decision-making.

Increased ability to plan and strategize.

Enhanced capability for learning from past experiences.

Increased impulsivity and altered emotional regulation. (correct)

Which type of scientific evidence allows for the determination of causation?

Experimental studies that involve manipulation of independent variables. Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the hypothalamus in the stress response?

It mediates the stress response to maintain homeostasis. Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between happiness, reality, and expectations?

Happiness increases when reality exceeds expectations. Signup and view all the answers

Which brain region shows the most activation when an individual has low expectations and wins?

Nucleus accumbens Signup and view all the answers

What is cognitive reappraisal primarily aimed at achieving?

Identifying incorrect beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

Mindfulness practices are associated with which of the following benefits?

Reduction in stress and anxiety. Signup and view all the answers

Which type of action is characterized by being motivated by the desirability of a goal?

Goal-directed actions Signup and view all the answers

In the habit loop, what is the correct order of components?

Cue → routine → reward Signup and view all the answers

How does mindfulness affect the amygdala?

It reduces the size of the amygdala. Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes goal-directed actions from stimulus-driven actions?

Goal-directed actions are determined by adaptability. Signup and view all the answers

What role does the HPA axis play in the body during stress?

It regulates the release of cortisol. Signup and view all the answers

Which part of the autonomic nervous system is responsible for the 'fight or flight' response?

Sympathetic nervous system Signup and view all the answers

How does exercise influence mood according to the provided content?

It can decrease stress and releases endorphins. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary effect of sleep on the physiology of the brain?

It facilitates memory consolidation. Signup and view all the answers

What is the psychological impact of gratitude according to the described mechanisms?

It enhances the anterior cingulate cortex's response to positive events. Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the main functions of the vagus nerve?

To transmit information to and from the brain. Signup and view all the answers

How does sleep hygiene primarily affect daytime functioning?

By ensuring high-quality nighttime sleep. Signup and view all the answers

What critical relationship does sleep have with stress?

Inadequate sleep increases stress, and increased stress disrupts sleep. Signup and view all the answers

What does the Yerkes-Dodson law suggest about stress and performance?

Moderate stress can enhance performance for complex tasks. Signup and view all the answers

What does accumulation of sleep debt refer to?

Sleeping less during weekdays requiring extra sleep on weekends. Signup and view all the answers

What role does dopamine play in relation to impulses and reward?

Dopamine releases in response to novelty or reward, motivating actions to achieve that reward. Signup and view all the answers

How does stress affect the type of behaviors individuals engage in?

Stress biases individuals toward stimuli-directed behaviors facilitated by the dorsal striatum. Signup and view all the answers

Which cognitive function may be reduced by increased worry?

Judgment under pressure Signup and view all the answers

Which best describes fixed ratio rewards?

They are consistent and predictable, allowing animals to know what they need to do to receive a reward. Signup and view all the answers

What effect does biofeedback primarily have on the body?

It can help control certain bodily functions. Signup and view all the answers

What neurological area is involved in processing the impact of expectations during mistakes?

Anterior cingulate cortex Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of cognitive behavioral therapy?

Addressing and modifying personal coping strategies for unhelpful behaviors. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of drinking behaviors, what does increased activity in the nucleus accumbens indicate?

Drinking is perceived as a fun and rewarding activity. Signup and view all the answers

In what way does the hypothalamus influence circadian rhythms?

By controlling the internal clock reset through light. Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes variable ratio rewards compared to fixed ratio rewards?

They engage emotions more due to their uncertainty. Signup and view all the answers

What is behavioral activation therapy primarily concerned with?

Assessing how external contexts and environments influence behaviors. Signup and view all the answers

How does stress influence routines according to the information provided?

Stress leads to an increase in habitual behavior due to the release in the dorsal striatum. Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of understanding rewards in the habit loop?

To figure out how new habits can provide benefits Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of acceptance and commitment therapy?

Accepting thoughts and feelings while choosing valued actions Signup and view all the answers

Which component of the habit loop involves changing cues?

Modifying the environment and reducing stress Signup and view all the answers

How does self-affirmation contribute to habit change?

By emphasizing one's positive qualities and strengths Signup and view all the answers

What is a key principle of 'Getting Things Done' basics?

Capturing tasks in a logical system outside of your mind Signup and view all the answers

How do goals and intentions affect perception and enjoyment?

They can enhance attention and change visual cortex response Signup and view all the answers

What is a benefit of organizing reminders for actions in a systematic way?

It ensures regular review and progress Signup and view all the answers

What might be an outcome of focusing on valued actions in acceptance and commitment therapy?

It allows for better alignment with personal values Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Relationships, Meaningfulness, and Accomplishments

People need deep relationships, purpose, and to feel a sense of achievement and progress.

Growth Mindset

The Growth Mindset believes that effort can improve talents (Carol Dweck)
The power of "yet" is a key concept in this approach (cognitive reframing)
Growth mindset creates greater connectivity between the DLPFC and dorsal striatum
This is attributed to the brain's neuroplasticity: "neurons that fire together, wire together"

fMRI

Measures blood flow changes related to brain activity
Essentially provides a "movie of the brain" showing which parts are more active during specific tasks

Phineas Gage

Damage to the orbitofrontal cortex can affect goal-directed behavior
Damage to this area can increase impulsivity

Types of Scientific Evidence

Observation: Observing subjects and measuring variables of interest, but doesn't manipulate the independent variable (can't determine causation)
Experimental: Manipulating the independent variable (intervention or treatment) and measuring the outcome variable (can determine causation)

Study Limitations

Confounding variables
Correlation vs. causation

Stress

An organism's response to environmental change
Linked to homeostasis, mediated by the hypothalamus
Psychological and physiological stress
HPA (hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenal) axis regulates cortisol release in response to stress

Autonomic Nervous System

Sympathetic: Fight or flight response
Parasympathetic: Calms down the sympathetic nervous system

Vagus Nerve

Connects the brain to internal organs, sending information both ways
Processed within the insula region of the brain
Vital part of the parasympathetic nervous system
Important for heart rate variability
Functions: constricts bronchi, slows heartbeat, stimulates digestion, and bile release

Effects of Exercise and Sleep

Exercise:
- Reduces stress and depression
- Lowers cortisol levels and improves mood
- Reduces activity in the dorsal striatum when looking at cigarettes
- Releases endorphins and endocannabinoids
- Increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps grow new neurons in the hippocampus
- Increases PFC activity and gray matter in the PFC (especially in older adults)
- Boosts serotonin
- Yoga releases GABA
- Improves sleep
Sleep:
- Improves mood
- Reduces pain and stress
- Reduces reward response to unhealthy behaviors
- Improves learning and cognitive performance
- Boosts the immune system
- Reciprocal relationship between sleep and stress
  - Inadequate sleep increases stress
  - Increased stress disrupts sleep
- Important for memory consolidation
- Communication between the hippocampus and the PFC during slow-wave sleep
- Reduces amygdala reactivity
- Disrupted sleep increases pain (sleep likely releases endorphins)
- Important for prefrontal activity

Biofeedback

Mind-body technique to gain control over bodily functions (breathing, facial muscles, posture)
Breathing modulates the vagus nerve activity
- Higher heart rate variability (HRV) means reduced stress

Moderators of Stress

Certainty, controllability, consequences
- Controllability:
  - Perceiving control is crucial for reducing stress (don't need actual control)
- Certainty:
  - Uncertainty increases stress
- Consequences:
  - Interaction between certainty and consequences
  - High consequence + uncertainty = increased amygdala activity
  - Low consequence + uncertainty = no amygdala activation

Effects of Gratitude

The nucleus accumbens is activated by things that are unexpectedly good, not things we expect
This is why expressing gratitude has positive effects
Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms
Improves sleep quality and reduces anxiety in college students
Improves physical health and pain/discomfort perception
Enhances the immune system
Increases feelings of social support
Expressing appreciation activates the anterior cingulate cortex in response to positive events

Placebo

A fake intervention
Activates the endorphin system and increases DLPFC activity
Even when participants know it's a placebo, it can produce mind-body healing processes

Worry

Distinct from fear and anxiety
Anxiety involves subconscious fear circuitry activated by possible danger, while worry is consciously thinking about possible danger
Worry is a coping mechanism for anxiety
Mediated by the medial PFC and anterior cingulate cortex

Circadian Rhythms

Driven by the internal clock, which is cyclical
The hypothalamus controls the internal clock, reset by light
Daily fluctuations in melatonin, cortisol, and body temperature impact circadian rhythms

Sleep Hygiene

Good sleep habits for nighttime quality and daytime alertness
Practices:
- Uninterrupted sleep
- Bright light during the day, darkness at night
- Quiet and dark sleep environment
- Calming nighttime routine
- Stress reduction
- Avoid caffeine
- No naps
- Use the bedroom only for sleep
- Avoid alcohol as a regular sleep aid
- Exercise

Sleep Debt

Accumulated sleep loss that needs to be "paid off" later
Leads to more attention lapses, which worsen over time

Sleep Architecture

Stages 1-4:
- Stage 1: Light sleep
- Stage 2, 3, 4: Slow-wave sleep
REM:
- Last stage of sleep
- Rapid eye movement

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)

The brain is bathed in CSF
This is why sleep is restorative
Sleep removes metabolic waste through CSF

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Relationship between arousal and performance for complex tasks
Inverted U-shaped function of performance.
Moderate arousal is optimal for performance
Mediated by prefrontal dopamine and norepinephrine

Influence of Expectations

The anterior cingulate cortex is more active when a mistake is made
The brain anticipates what should happen, and the anterior cingulate notices discrepancies between expectations and reality
Happy = reality - expectations
Excitement is modulated by expectations

Cognitive Reappraisal

CBT strategy for reframing thoughts and identifying incorrect beliefs
Trains the brain to work with you, not against you
DLPFC can mediate amygdala response to uncertainty

Mindfulness

Paying attention to the present moment without judgment
Reduces anxiety, stress, and depression
Increases wellbeing
Improves test-taking performance
Mindful people have smaller amygdalas
Increases activity in several parts of the mPFC, ACC, and insula

Goal-Directed vs. Stimulus-Driven Actions

Goal-Directed:
- Motivated by the desirability of a goal, flexible
- Behaviors: Intentional, willful actions (PFC) and impulses (nucleus accumbens)
Stimulus-Driven:
- Motivated by the stimulus or the environment, inflexible
- Behaviors: Routines/habits (dorsal striatum)

Habits

Cue/trigger, action, reward: The habit loop
- Cue -> Routine -> Reward -> Cue
- Routine is mediated by the dorsal striatum, reward activates the nucleus accumbens
Impulses and Routines:
- Impulses:
  - Dopamine release in response to novelty, reward, or anticipation of reward
  - Motivates actions to achieve the reward
  - Stress biases towards impulses
  - Less likely to involve PFC goal-directed behaviors and more likely to involve dorsal striatum stimuli-directed behaviors when stressed
- Routines:
  - Coping habits and rituals (difficult to change)
  - Stress activates the dorsal striatum, making it easier to fall back on habits

Fixed vs. Variable Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio:
- Predictable rewards
- Example: Getting $100 for every 5 boxes
Variable Ratio:
- Rewards based on probability
- Example: Gambling
- Increases emotional involvement

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Develops personal coping strategies for managing unhelpful cognitions and behaviors in emotional regulation
Behavioral Activation Therapy:
- Focuses on the importance of context and the environment over internal factors
- Targets negative behaviors
- Example: Struggling to go to the gym? Just go to the building and sit there.
- Habit Loop:
  - Change cues (understand triggers, modify environment, reduce stress)
  - Understand rewards (habits exist for a reason, identify benefits of new habits)
  - Replace routines
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy:
- Concentration and non-judgmental awareness
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy:
- Accept thoughts and feelings instead of trying to control them
- Choose valued actions (focus on choice)

Self-Affirmation

Focusing on one's positive qualities.
Promotes habit change by concentrating on strengths and areas of control

Getting Things Done Basics

Capture all tasks in a systematic way, outside of the mind
Make decisions about what inputs you allow into your life
Clarify commitments and determine necessary actions
Keep reminders organized in a system to review

Goals and Intentions

Enhance attention, perception, and enjoyment
Influence visual cortex response
Decisions increase enjoyment, activating the nucleus accumbens and the insula

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Description

Explore the concepts of relationships, meaningfulness, and accomplishments in psychology, along with the principles of the growth mindset developed by Carol Dweck. This quiz also covers neuroplasticity, fMRI techniques, and historical cases like Phineas Gage, showcasing the interplay between brain function and behavior.