Psychology 1A Final Exam Review PDF

**Final Exam Review - Psychology 1A** If you can answer the following questions, you'll be prepared for the in-class final. The multiple-choice questions will be related to the questions below. - **Identify at least 3 neurotransmitters in the brain and** **identify some of** **their**...

**Final Exam Review - Psychology 1A** If you can answer the following questions, you'll be prepared for the in-class final. The multiple-choice questions will be related to the questions below. - **Identify at least 3 neurotransmitters in the brain and** **identify some of** **their** **functions? (chapter 3)** **Neurotransmitter** -- chemical messenger of the nervous system. 1. **Acetylcholine** - Function: Involved in muscle action, memory, and learning. - Role: It enables muscle contractions and supports attention and arousal in the brain. 2. **Beta-Endorphin** - Function: Regulates pain and pleasure. - Role: Acts as a natural painkiller and contributes to feelings of euphoria during activities like exercise. 3. **Dopamine** - Function: Influences mood, sleep, and learning. - Role: Central to the reward system, it helps with motivation and reinforcing positive behaviors. 4. **Serotonin** - Function: Regulates mood and sleep. - Role: Helps with emotional stability, sleep cycles, and digestion. **Psychotropic medication** - drugs that treat psychiatric symptoms by restoring neurotransmitter balance. **Agonist** - drug that mimics or strengthens the effects of a neurotransmitter. **Antagonist** - drug that blocks or impedes the normal activity of a given neurotransmitter. When a neuron is at it\'s resting potential (-70mV), it is waiting to fire. When neurotransmitters bind to the receptor sites on the dendrite of the neuron, there is a change in potential. If that change in potential hits the threshold of excitation (-55mV), an action potential will then happen along the axon of the neuron. Il the axon has myelin, the action potential will move along the axon faster, As the action potential moves down the neuron, the synaptic besides move down to the terminal buttons. The neurotransmitters are released from the vesicles into the synapse where the next cell will then be activated. - **Briefly discuss the different stages of sleep. What are the lightest/darkest stages of sleep? Explain. (chapter 4)** Brainwave activity changes dramatically across the different stages of sleep. Changes in brain wave activity can be visualized using **EEG**. - **Alpha** -- relatively low frequency, relatively high amplitude, synchronized. - **Theta** -- low frequency, low amplitude. - **Delta** -- low frequency, high amplitude, desynchronized. - **Sleep spindles** -- rapid burst of high frequency brainwaves. - **K-complexes** -- very high amplitude pattern of brain activity. **[The difference stages:]** **Awake**, not sleeping at all. **REM -- Rapid Eye Movement:** - Rapid eye movements. - Paralysis of voluntary muscles. - Dreams. - Brain waves are similar to those seen during wakefulness. **Stage 1: Light Sleep** - **Transitional phase occurring between wakefulness and sleep.** - Rates of respiration and heartbeat slow down. - Overall muscle tension and core body temperature decrease. - Alpha waves. - NREM **Stage 2: Light Sleep** - **The body goes into deep relaxation.** - Theta waves - Characterized by the appearance of both sleep spindles and K- complexes. - NREM **Stage 3 & 4: Deep Sleep** - **Known as slow-wave sleep.** - Delta waves. - Respiration and heart rate slow down further. - NREM - **What are the differences between Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning and Observational Learning? Give a clear example of each. (chapter 6)** - **Classical conditioning** -- process by which we learn to associate stimuli and, consequently, to anticipate events. A dog naturally salivates when it sees food if if a bell is rung each time food is presented, the dog starts salivating just by hearing the bell even if no food is shown. This process was discovered by Ivan Pavlov. - **Operant conditioning** - organisms learn to associate a behavior and its consequences (reinforcement or punishment). A child cleans their rooms and receives praise from their parents, making them more likely to clean their room again in the future. - **Observational learning** -- learning by watching others and then imitating. A spider monkey learned to drink water from a plastic bottle by seeing the behavior modeled by a human. - I**dentify and describe the three problem solving strategies discussed in lecture. Give one example of each. (chapter 7)** **Trial and error** -- continue trying different solutions until problem is solved. Omar's phone is not working and to find out why his phone is malfunctioning, he is going to restart the phone, turning off the WiFi, turning off the bluetooth. One after the other one to determine the cause. **Algorithm** -- step-by-step problem-solving formula. Omar is trying to build the kitchen that he bought, so he is going to follow the manual instruction and do it step-by-step. **Heuristic** -- general problem-solving framework Omar is in a store, and he is trying to find out the original price of a product in discount. He is going to work backward and using the promotion price (\$80) and dived by 0.8 to find the original price which is \$100. - **What parts of the brain are involved in memories? Use examples of the** **different types of memories** **located in the different areas of the brain. (chapter 8)** **Prefrontal cortex:** - Appears to be involved in **remembering semantic tasks.** E.g. Learning punctuation and grammar. - PET scans show activation in the left inferior prefrontal cortex when completing semantic tasks. - Encoding is associated with left frontal activity. - Retrieval of information is associated with the right frontal region. **Amygdala**: - Involved in fear and fear memories (memory storage is influenced by stress hormones). - Processes emotional information important in encoding memories at a deeper level and memory consolidation. **Cerebellum**: - Plays a role in processing procedural memories, such as how to play the piano and classical conditioning. - Damage prevents classical conditioning such as an eye-blink in response to a puff of air. **Hippocampus**: - Associated with explicit memory, recognition memory and spatial memory. - Projects information to cortical regions that give memories meaning and connect them with other memories. - Involved in memory consolidation. - Damage leads to an inability to process new declarative memories. - **What parts of the limbic system are directly related to emotions? Describe what role each plays in the recognition or processing of emotions. (chapter 10)** - **Hypothalamus** -- involved in activation of the sympathetic nervous system (part of an emotional reaction). - **Thalamus** -- sensory relay center, neurons project to both the amygdala and higher cortical regions for further processing. - **Amygdala** -- plays a role in processing emotional information and sending it on to cortical structures. (especially fear and anxiety) - **Hippocampus** -- integrates emotional experience with cognition. - **Describe PNI. Identify 5 specific things you can do in your life to apply PNI to life. (chapter 14)** **PNI: Psychoneuroimmunology -- field that studies how psychological factors influence the immune system and immune functioning.** 5 things you can do; - Focus on emotional well-being - Perceived control - Cultivate Social Connections/Support - Relaxation response techniques - Biofeedback - **Detail OCD. Explain what type of disorder it is and give an example of one type of OCD. (Chapter 15)** Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD) - Involves thoughts and urges that are intrusive and unwanted (obsessions) and/or the need to engage in repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions). **Common obsessions:** - Concerns about germs and contamination - Doubts - Order and symmetry - Aggressive or lustful urges Repetitive hand washing and checking (e.g., that a door is locked) are common compulsions among those with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Other common compulsions include cleaning, ordering, and counting. - **What is CBT? Explain what it is and briefly detail how it might work for someone who is diagnosed with depression. (chapter 16)** Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) -- works to change cognitive distortions and self-defeating behaviors. (Aims to change both how people think and how they act). - Helps clients examine how their thoughts affect their behavior. - Combination of cognitive therapy (making individuals aware of irrational, negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ways of thinking) and behavior therapies (teaches people to to practice and engage in more positive, healthy approaches to situations).