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Questions and Answers
Which term describes the failure to notice visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere?
What is the most recommended amount of sleep for adults?
Which type of sleep is characterized by vivid dreaming and rapid eye movements?
Which condition is characterized by frequent reflexive gasping for air during sleep?
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What is the primary effect of depressants on the central nervous system?
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Which theory suggests that dreams serve to preserve sleep and provide psychic safety?
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What is the term for the increased production of immune cells due to sleep?
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Which psychoactive drug class is known for inducing relaxation and euphoria, but can also disrupt memory?
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What is the most common sleep disorder affecting 30-35% of adults?
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Which age group typically experiences the highest percentage of REM sleep?
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Which factors are linked to increased risk for sleep apnea?
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What term describes the body's 24-hour biological cycle influencing sleep and wakefulness?
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Which natural sleep aid involves relaxing before bedtime?
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Which type of psychoactive drug is known to produce sensory and perceptual distortions?
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What is the primary role of the placenta during the germinal stage of development?
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During which stage of prenatal development are vital organs such as the heart and brain formed?
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What effect can maternal drug use during pregnancy have on fetal development?
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What is a common characteristic of secure attachment in infants?
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Which stage in Piaget's theory involves a failure of conservation in children's thinking?
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What happens during the synaptic pruning process in adolescence?
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What is the primary focus during early adulthood according to Erikson's stages?
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What aspect of physical development peaks in early adulthood?
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What characterizes the preconventional level of moral reasoning?
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What impact does maternal nutrition have during pregnancy?
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What is the effect of environmental stress on prenatal development?
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Which factor does NOT contribute to cognitive deficits in children?
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Which statement about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is accurate?
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What signifies avoidant attachment in infants?
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Study Notes
History of Consciousness
- Psychology began as a study of consciousness
- Structuralist school focused on introspection (observing/reporting one's own thoughts/feelings)
- Functionalist school focused on "stream of consciousness" (the flow of thoughts, feelings, and sensations)
- Consciousness re-entered psychology after 1960
Elements of Consciousness
- Awareness of external events
- Awareness of internal sensations
- Awareness of self as a unique being experiencing these events
- Thoughts about the experience
Forms of Consciousness
- Consciousness: Awareness of ourselves and our environment
- Some forms are spontaneous (e.g., daydreaming, drowsiness, dreaming)
- Some forms are physiologically induced (e.g., hallucinations, orgasm, food or oxygen starvation)
- Some forms are psychologically induced (e.g., sensory deprivation, hypnosis, meditation)
Cognitive Neuroscience
- Brain events interact like a chord to create consciousness
Selective Attention
- Inattentional blindness: Failure to notice visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere
- Change blindness: Failure to notice a change in a visual scene
Sleep
- A significant biological function
- Most people sleep over 175,000 hours in their lifetime
- 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep loss or sleep deprivation
- Current recommendations: 8 or more hours of sleep
- College students are the most sleep-deprived population
- Sleep deprivation can lower GPA and increase daytime sleepiness
Circadian Rhythms and Sleep
- A 24-hour biological cycle found in everything humans to animals
- Regulates blood pressure, hormonal directions, body temperature, and sleep-wake cycles
- Light triggers the suprachiasmatic nucleus to decrease melatonin from the pineal gland (morning) and increase it at night
- Disruptions to circadian rhythm can occur due to sleeping at unusual times, transcontinental flights, and night shift work
- Night shift work can reduce productivity, increase accident proneness, negatively affect social relations and mental health
Awake and Alert Stages
- Beta waves: Low amplitude, fast, irregular brain waves (associated with an awake person in conversation)
- Alpha waves: Large amplitude, slow, regular brain waves (associated with a relaxed awake state, e.g., eyes closed, meditating)
Sleep Stages
- We cycle through five sleep stages every ninety minutes
- NREM stages 1 & 2: Brief and transitional
- Theta waves: High amplitude, slow, regular waves; breathing and heart rate slow, body temperature and muscle tension decline
- NREM stage 1: Hallucinations are commonly experienced in this stage
- NREM stages 3 & 4: Slow wave sleep
- Delta waves: Large amplitude, low frequency waves; breathing, heart rate, muscle tension, and body temperature continue to decline
- Stage 5: REM sleep
- Beta waves: Vivid dreaming, irregular breathing, increased pulse rate, muscle tone extremely relaxed (almost paralyzed); genital arousal
- REM sleep is marked by rapid eye movements
Age Trends in Sleep
- Infants: Spend 50% of their sleep in REM compared to 20% in adults
- Adults: REM sleep remains constant, slow-wave sleep decreases, stage 1 sleep increases, and total sleep time decreases
How Sleep Deprivation Affects Us
- Brain: Decreased ability to focus, pay attention, and form memories, increased risk of depression
- Immune system: Decreased production of immune cells, increased risk of viral infections (e.g., flu)
- Heart: Increased risk of high blood pressure
- Stomach: Increased hunger, decreased hunger suppression
- Fat cells: Increased production, greater risk of obesity
- Joints: Increased inflammation and arthritis
- Muscles: Reduced strength, slower reaction time, and impaired motor learning
Why We Need REM and Slow-Wave Sleep
- Adaptive function for conserving energy, reducing predator risk, and restoring bodily resources
- Consolidates memories
- Facilitates neurogenesis (forms new neurons)
- Increases creativity
Sleep Disorders
- Insomnia: Most common sleep disorder (30-35% of adults), more common in women; characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and persistent early-morning awakenings
- Health problems associated with insomnia include impaired cognitive function, increased risk of accidents, decreased productivity, depression, and anxiety
- Common causes of insomnia include excessive anxiety and tension, and other health problems
- Treatment options include OTC sleep aids, benzodiazepine sedatives (e.g., Lunesta and Ambien), relaxation procedures, and melatonin supplements (effectiveness of melatonin is mixed and not FDA regulated)
- Sleep Apnea: Frequent reflexive gasping for air that disrupts sleep; often accompanied by loud snoring, irritability, and high blood pressure; more common in men, postmenopausal women, older adults, and obese individuals
- Causes of sleep apnea include obesity and smoking
- Treatments include lifestyle changes (e.g., weight loss), drug therapy, and the use of sleep apnea masks to open airways and improve airflow
- Night Terrors: Common in 3-8-year-olds; abrupt awakenings from Non-REM sleep with intense autonomic arousal and panic feelings; increased heart rate; piercing cries, bolting upright, and staring into space
- Treatment: Often temporary
- Sleep Walking: Arising and wandering about while asleep; typically occurs during the first 3 hours of sleep in slow-wave sleep stages; lasts 30 seconds to 30 minutes
- Causes: Unknown, possibly a genetic predisposition
- Narcolepsy: Gradual or sudden attacks of sleepiness during the day (lasting less than 5 minutes); can include cataplexy (muscle weakness while awake), sleep paralysis (inability to move while falling asleep or waking up), and hypnagogic hallucinations (dream-like experiences at the onset of sleep)
- Treatments: Stimulants
Some Natural Sleep Aids
- Exercise
- Avoid caffeine
- Relax before bedtime
- Maintain a regular sleep schedule
- Hide the time
- Remind yourself that temporary sleep loss is not harmful
- Focus on non-arousing, engaging thoughts (e.g., TV programs, song lyrics, vacation travel)
- If all else fails, settle for less sleep (e.g., go to bed later or wake up earlier)
Dreams
- Content can be mundane, familiar situations with friends, family members, and colleagues; mostly first-person perspectives
- Most common dream themes include being chased, sexual experiences, falling, school/studying, and arriving too late
Why Do We Dream? Theories
- Freud's Wish-Fulfillment Theory: Dreams preserve sleep and provide psychological safety value (lacks scientific evidence; can’t account for dreams about the past or things never experienced)
- Information Processing Theory: Dreams help sort out daily experiences and consolidate memories (fails to explain why we dream about the past & things never experienced)
- Physiological Function Theory: Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep helps to develop and preserve neural pathways (doesn’t explain why dreams are meaningful)
- Neural Activation Theory (Activation-synthesis): REM sleep causes neural activity which evokes random visual memories that the brain weaves into stories (fails to explain why dreams are meaningful)
- Cognitive Development Theory: Dream content reflects the dreamer's cognitive development, making dreams a way to stimulate our lives (doesn't propose an adaptive function of dreams)
Meditation
- A family of practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under voluntary control
- Benefits include reduced stress, anxiety, depression, enhanced immune system, reduced substance abuse, controlled blood pressure, improved cardiovascular health
Psychoactive Drugs
- Chemical substances that modify mental, emotional, or behavioral functioning
- Three major classes: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens
Depressants
- Reduce arousal or stimulation by reducing neurotransmission
- Examples include narcotics, sedatives, alcohol, and tranquilizers
Stimulants
- Temporarily improve mental or physical functioning
- Examples include caffeine, nicotine, and cocaine
Hallucinogens
- Subjective alterations in perception, thought, mood, and consciousness
- Examples include LSD
Dependence and Addiction
- Continued use of a psychoactive drug produces tolerance. Repeated exposure to the drug lessens its effect, requiring greater quantities to achieve the desired effect.
Tolerance
- The need to take higher doses of a drug to achieve the desired effect due to progressively reduced reactions to a specific drug dose.
Withdrawal and Dependence
- Withdrawal: Upon stopping drug use (after addiction), users may experience undesirable side effects.
- Physical Dependence: A person must continue taking the drug to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
- Psychological Dependence: A person must continue taking the drug to satisfy intense mental and emotional cravings.
Narcotics or Opiates
- Derived from opium and capable of relieving pain
- Examples include heroin, morphine, and oxycodone
- Over 300,000 Americans abused heroin in the past year.
Mechanism of Action (Narcotics/Opiates)
- Bind to opioid receptors (involved in pain perception and reward)
Desired Effects (Narcotics/Opiates)
- Euphoria
- Pain relief
- Anxiety reduction
Sedatives
- Decrease CNS activation and behavioral activity
- Examples include barbiturates and non-barbiturates
Desired Effects (Sedatives)
- Induce sleep
- Reduce anxiety
Alcohol
- Variety of beverages containing ethyl alcohol (e.g., beers, wines, distilled liquors)
Desired Effects (Alcohol)
- Relaxed euphoria
- Disinhibition
Serious Effects (Alcohol)
- Disrupt memory
- Blackouts
- Reduce self-awareness
Don't Underestimate Drunk Experiences
Stimulants
- Drugs that increase CNS activation and behavioral activity
- Examples include caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and amphetamines (e.g., meth)
- Cocaine is naturally grown; amphetamines are synthesized in labs
Mechanism of Action (Stimulants)
- Interferes with reuptake at dopamine and norepinephrine synapses
Desired Effects (Stimulants)
- Euphoria
- Alertness
Hallucinogens
- Powerful effects on mental and emotional functioning, marked by sensory and perceptual distortions
- Examples include LSD, mescaline, and cannabis
Desired Effects (Hallucinogens)
- Euphoria
- Increased sensory awareness
- Distorted sense of time
Cannabis
- Hemp plant from which marijuana, hashish, and THC are derived
- Marijuana is a mixture of dried leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds
Desired Effects (Cannabis)
- Mild relaxed euphoria
- Increased sensory awareness
Drug Overdose
- Many overdoses involve lethal combinations of CNS depressants
Prenatal Development
- Germinal Stage: 2 Weeks
- Zygote undergoes rapid cell division
- Cells migrate to implant in the uterine wall, forming a placenta
- Placenta provides oxygen and nutrients from the mother's bloodstream to the fetus and waste products from the fetus to the mother.
- Embryonic Stage: 2 Weeks to 2 Months
- Embryo (about 1 inch long)
- Formation of vital organs (heart, brain, spine)
- Highly sensitive to structural defects and complications
- Most miscarriages occur during this stage.
- Fetal Stage: 2 Months to Birth
- Fetus
- Maturation of skeletal and muscular systems
- Organ growth and functionality
- Final 3 months: Rapid brain cell multiplication, maturation of respiratory and digestive systems
Environmental Factors: Maternal Drug Use
- Teratogens: external agents (drugs or viruses) that can harm the embryo or fetus
- All recreational drugs (narcotics, sedatives, cocaine) are harmful
- Babies born with addiction to narcotics
- Increased risk of early mortality due to birth defects and respiratory difficulties
- Birth complications, cognitive deficits
- Alcohol Consumption:
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Collection of congenital problems associated with excessive alcohol use during pregnancy.
- Caffeine:
- Crosses the placenta
- High amounts slightly increase the risk of miscarriages, preterm births, and low birth weight
- 1-2 cups of coffee per day are generally considered safe.
- Smoking:
- Reduces fetal blood flow
- Increased risk of complications, including miscarriages, stillbirth, placental abnormalities, growth retardation, preterm birth, and low birth weight
- Slower-than-average cognitive development, attention deficits, hyperactivity, and conduct problems.
Maternal Nutrition and Emotions
- Balanced diet
- High in folate, vitamins, calcium, iron, sodium, and zinc
- Anxiety and depression can increase behavioral problems
- Emotional responses to stress can disrupt hormonal balances crucial for optimal fetal development
Infancy and Childhood
- Physical Development
- Brain cells are sculpted by both heredity and experience
- Birth: Neuronal growth spurt
- 3-6 Months: Rapid frontal lobe growth, continuing into adolescence and beyond
- Early childhood: Critical period for certain skills (language and vision)
- Throughout life: Learning changes brain tissues
- Motor Development
- Motor skills develop as the nervous system and muscles mature.
- Universal in sequence but not timing.
- Guided by genes and influenced by the environment
- Walking: 25% walk by 11 months, 50% walk by 12 months, 90% walk by 15 months.
- Novice walkers: Fall 32 times per hour on average, take 1500 steps per hour, travel three times the distance of crawlers, and see the entire room
- Motor Development = progression of muscular coordination
- Cephalocaudal Trend: Head-to-foot direction.
- Proximodistal Trend: Center-outward direction.
- Maturation = development that reflects the gradual unfolding of genetic blueprint.
Personality Development: Piaget's Theory
- Aimed to understand the reasoning behind children's incorrect answers on intelligence tests.
- Emphasized the interaction between the environment and the child's innate abilities for cognitive development.
- Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to Nearly 2 Years)
- Children coordinate sensory input with motor actions
- Develop object permanence (4-8 months): Awareness that things continue to exist even when they are not perceived.
- Preoperational Stage (2-7 Years)
- Centration: Tendency to focus on one feature of a problem while ignoring others.
- Failure of Conservation: Inability to understand that physical quantities remain the same despite changes in shape or appearance.
- Egocentrism/Curse of Knowledge: Difficulty in understanding another person's point of view.
- Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 Years)
- Think logically about concrete events.
- Begin to understand that changes in form don't always mean changes in quantity.
- Able to understand simple math and conservation.
- Formal Operational Stage (12 Years Through Adulthood)
- No longer limited to concrete reasoning based on actual experiences
- Able to think abstractly
Attachment:
- Close emotional bonds of affection that develop between infants and their caregivers.
- 2-3 months old: Infants laugh and smile more when interacting with their mother.
- 6-8 months: Infants show a preference for their mother and resist strangers.
- Stranger Anxiety: Emotional distress seen in infants when separated from people they have formed an attachment with.
- Theories of Attachment: Harlow
- Infant monkeys raised with substitute mothers (terrycloth or wire).
- Half fed by a cloth mother, the other half by a wire mother.
- Monkeys clung to cloth mothers (who provided contact comfort) when exposed to a fearful stimulus, even though they were not fed by them.
- Supported an evolutionary theory of attachment.
- Infants emit unlearned behaviors (smiling, cooing) that trigger parental love and comfort.
Social Development: Attachment Pattern
- Strange Situations Procedure: Infants are exposed to a series of eight separation and reunion episodes to assess the quality of attachment.
- Secure Attachment (60%): Infants play comfortably with their mother, become upset when she leaves, and calm down and seek comfort when she returns.
- Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment: Infants are anxious in the presence of their mother, protest when she leaves, but are not comforted when she returns.
- Avoidant/Insecure Attachment: Infants seek little contact with their mother and are not distressed when she leaves.
- Dependent on: Maternal sensitivity and children's temperament
- Mothers who are more responsive to their children's needs develop more secure attachments.
- Temperamentally difficult children may develop slower secure attachments to their mothers.
Effects of Attachment Quality on Development
- Infants with secure attachments are more resilient, secure, and sociable.
- Preschool children with secure attachments display more persistence, curiosity, and leadership skills.
- Middle childhood: Positive moods and healthier strategies for coping with stress.
- More advanced cognitive development.
Deprivation of Attachment
- 250 children who experienced deprivation of attachment in orphanages had lower intelligence scores and double the rate of anxiety symptoms compared to the general population (20% anxiety)
Adolescence
- Puberty: Sexual functions reach maturity.
- Primary Sex Characteristics: Develop (female menarche, male sperm production).
- Secondary Sex Characteristics: Develop (e.g., breast development, facial hair growth).
- Synaptic Pruning: Unused neurons are pruned, making the brain more efficient.
- Frontal Lobe: Continues to develop, influencing decision-making, planning, and impulse control.
Moral Reasoning: Lawrence Kohlberg
- Devised a stage theory of moral development based on subjects' responses to hypothetical moral dilemmas.
- Three Levels of Moral Reasoning: Preconventional, Conventional, Postconventional
- Preconventional: Acts are considered right or wrong based on whether or not they are punished.
- Conventional: Children see rules as necessary for maintaining social order.
- Postconventional: Individuals develop their own personal code of ethics; acceptance of rules is less rigid.
Adulthood
- Distinct transitional life stage (18-25 years)
- Not yet assuming adult responsibilities and independence.
- Feeling of being "in between."
- Often involves living with parents and being emotionally dependent on them.
- Prevalent in contemporary Western culture.
- Delaying marriage and parenthood until late 20s and early 30s.
- Staying in school for long periods.
Early Adulthood
- Muscular strength, reaction time, sensory keenness, and cardiac output peak in the mid-twenties.
Middle Adulthood
- Physical vigor is linked to health and exercise more than age.
- Gradual decline in fertility.
- Female: Menopause.
- Male: Gradual decline in sperm count, testosterone levels, erection speed, and ejaculation speed.
Late Adulthood
- Life expectancy worldwide has increased from 46.5 to 70 years old.
- Visual sharpness, distance perception, and stamina diminish.
- Pupils shrink and become less transparent.
- Immune system weakens, increasing susceptibility to life-threatening diseases.
- Neural processing slows; brain regions related to memory begin to atrophy; speech slows.
Neurocognitive Disorders (NCD) and Alzheimer's Disease
- Acquired (not lifelong) disorders; cognitive deficits.
- Often related to Alzheimer's disease, brain injury or disease, or substance abuse.
- Erosion of mental abilities not typical of normal aging.
Alzheimer's Disease
- Characterized by the presence of neural plaques.
- Progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities.
- Typically develops after the age of 80.
Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development
- These stages highlight the challenges and opportunities for social and emotional growth throughout the lifespan.
Stage 1: Early Adulthood (Intimacy vs. Isolation)
- Focuses on forming close, intimate relationships and finding a sense of belonging.
Stage 2: Middle Adulthood (Generativity vs. Self-Absorption)
- Focuses on contributing to society and leaving a legacy, often through raising children, mentoring, or creative pursuits.
Stage 3: Late Adulthood (Integrity vs. Despair)
- Focuses on reflecting on one's life and finding meaning and acceptance.
Grief
- Grief is a normal, natural response to loss, and it can be severe.
Unconfirmed Beliefs
- Many beliefs about aging are not confirmed by scientific evidence.
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Description
Explore the intricate history and elements of consciousness in psychology. This quiz covers various theories, forms, and the cognitive neuroscience behind consciousness since the 1960s. Test your understanding of how awareness shapes our experiences.
