Psychology Final Exam PDF

Final Consciousness What is consciousness? -Consciousness: The moment to moment subjective experience of the world, bodies and the mental sensations: -subjective -dynamic -self reflective Interdisciplinary: physics, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, computer science etc How is it supposedly m...

Final Consciousness What is consciousness? -Consciousness: The moment to moment subjective experience of the world, bodies and the mental sensations: -subjective -dynamic -self reflective Interdisciplinary: physics, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, computer science etc How is it supposedly measured? -self reports -psychological measure -behavioral measure A Cognitive View of Consciousness Cognitive psychology The analogy: Humans are “information processors”. The mind is the computer’s software and the brain is the computer’s hardware →Caveat: This is an oversimplification and not all cognitive psychologist’s agree with this interpretation Controlled (effortful) processing: Mental processing the requires some degree of volitional control and attentiveness Automatic Processing: Mental activities that occur automatically and require no or minimal conscious control or awareness Divided attention: The ability to perform more than one activity at the same time →difficult if tasks require similar cognitive resources eg.listening to music and studying for an exam The Science of Sleep: Circadian Rhythm- cyclical changes that occur on a roughly 24 hour basis in many biological processes →Regulated by the Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN): located in the hypothalamus, brains biological clock, pineal gland releases a hormone melatonin. How Much Sleep Do we need? Stages of Sleep Awake and alert: beta waves (approx. less than 13 waves per second) Calm Wakefulness: Alpha waves (approx 8-12 waves per second) Stage 1: →Theta waves (4-7 waves per seconds) →Myoclonic Jerks →Hypnagogic Imagery Stage 2: →Sleep Spindles: short burst of neural activity →K-complexes: A large waveform that occurs intermittently Stage 3 and 4: →Delta Wave (1-2 waves per second) →stage 3 50% of waves are delta →”Deep Sleep” required for feeling well rested →Time spent in deep sleep declines with age Stage of Sleep: Rapid eye movement (REM) →Darting of eyes underneed closed eyelids during sleep Non-REM sleep (NREM) →Stage 1 through 4 of sleep cycle during which rapid eye movement do not occur and dreaming in less frequent and vivid REM sleep →stage of sleep during which the brain is most active and during which vivid dreaming most often occurs →Approximately 20% of sleep is REM sleep →Rebonds when REM sleep is lost Why do we sleep? -energy Conservation -Adaptive for avoiding predation -restorative (body has a chance to heal) Sleep Disorders: INSOMNIA: Difficulty falling and staying asleep →regularly taking more than 30 minutes to fall asleep →waking too early in the morning →waking up during the night and have trouble returning to sleep →Factors such as age, drug use, exercise, mental status, ad bedtime routines can contribute to insomnia Treatment behavioral: making sure you have a consistent wake schedule Go to bed only when you are tired (eg. nodding off) →if you are in bed and not sleeping get out of bed Exercise regularly Avoid drugs like alcohol and caffeine in the evening Treatment (pharmacological) Can be addictive Have adverse side effect Can lead to rebound insomnia NARCOLEPSY: ◦ Disorder characterized by an irregular control of sleep-wake cycles. ◦ Symptoms: “Sleep attacks”, Cataplexy, Hypnagogic (sleep onset) and Hypnopompic (sleep offset) hallucinations. ◦ Sleep paralysis ◦ Disturbed nighttime sleep ◦ Possible Causes ◦ Insufficient hypocretin producing neurons in the hypothalamus. ◦ Treatment ◦ Stimulants ◦ Behavioral strategies (OBSTRUCTIVE) SLEEP APNEA: -disorder cause by a blockage of the airway during sleep, results in daytime fatigue Creates health problems: -night sweats -weight gain -hearing loss -irregular heartbeat -raises risk of death Treatment: weight loss, CPAP air mask NIGHT TERRORS: -sudden waking episodes characterized by screaming, perspiring, and confusion followed by a return to a deep sleep -lasts a few minutes -stages 3 and 4 (not REM) -harmless -treatment: getting older SLEEPWALKING: -aka somnambulism -walking while fully asleep -occuring during deep sleep stages -usually harmless -person is often not aware they have done it -occurs more often in children -contrary to popular belief it is perfectly safe to wake up a sleepwalker Dreams: Most people dream but a large number of people typically can’t recall or forget their dreams after waking from a night’s sleep. ◦ Lab studies that wake individuals during REM show that self-reported “non-dreamers” do actually dream. ◦ Only 0.38% of people have been found to never experience dreams Cross-cultural Similarities: →Dreams are typically more negative (emotionally and thematically) than positive →Ratio of male to female characters within a dream... ◦ 1:1 for women ◦ 2:1 for men → Dream content is often continuous with past or present pre- occupations of the individual dreamer. Freud’s Dream Protection Theory: →The interpretation of dreams (DIE TRAUMDEUTUNG) →PUBLISHED BY FREUD 1899 →dreams reflect “wish-fulfillment” of unconscious desires →Prevents unconscious urges from ruining sleep. ◦ Primitive unconscious urges/desires are expressed symbolically within the dream and require “interpretation”. ◦ Manifest Content: The raw facts and details about the dream. ◦ Latent Content: The underlying meaning about details within the dream, Problems: ◦ People with brain damage who can’t dream will sleep soundly. ◦ Dreams are often not wish-fulling: ◦ Mostly negative ◦ Consist of benign people and activities ◦ Can be nightmarish. ◦ Most dreams involve no sexual themes. Activation Synthesis Theory: ◦ Theory that dreams reflect inputs from brain activation originating in the pons, which cortical regions of the brain then attempt to weave into a story. ◦ REM is induced by increased Acetylcholine in the Pons and reductions in Serotonin and Norepinephrine. Altered States of Consciousness Out of Body Experiences (OBE): ◦ The sensation of our consciousness leaving our body. ◦ Occurs in approx. 10% of the general population. ◦ People who experience OBE’s often report other strange experiences as well (e.g.,hallucinations,perceptual distortions, lucid dreams, etc.) ◦ OBE’s often occur in conjunction with near-death experiences: ◦ Out-of-body experience reported by people who’ve nearly died or thought they were going to die. Deja vu: -feeling of reliving an experience that’s new -lasts approximately 10-30 seconds -may be due to →excess levels of dopamine in temporal lobe →people with small temporal lobe seizures will report Deja Vu prior to the seizure -Resemblance of past events poorly remembered Hypnosis: ◦ Set of techniques that provides people with suggestions for alterations in their perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. ◦ People are chosen to be “hypnotized” on the basis of their suggestibility. They are not “hypnotized” to be suggestable. ◦ Myths: ◦ Puts people in a “trance.” ◦ People can be made to do things they don’t want to do. ◦ People are unaware of their surroundings. ◦ People forget what took place. ◦ Hypnosis can give you special abilities. ◦ Hypnotism enhances memory. Regression Therapy ◦ People are hypnotized to remember events from childhood (where their psych problems originated). ◦ Problems: ◦Reports of age-regressed individuals often cannot be corroborated by individuals present at the time. ◦ Poggendorf Illusion ◦ EEG responses ◦ Past-Life Regression Therapy ◦ People are regressed to remember events from a past life. ◦ Problems: Claims of regressed individuals often prove false when fact-checked, Ability to be regressed to a past-life is dependent on a belief in reincarnation. Drugs (and hella melodies??) Psychoactive Drug: ◦ Substance that contains chemicals similar to those found naturally in our brains that alter consciousness by changing chemical processes in neurons - Alter how we think, feel, and act -Effects of the drug depend on: →Type →Dose Blood Brain Barrier ◦ A physiological mechanism that alters the permeability of brain capillaries, so that some substances, such as certain drugs, are prevented from entering brain tissue, while other substances are allowed to enter freely. Diagnosis of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) ◦ User has significant and recurring impairments in their life as a result of the drug(s). ◦ (Note: this is a oversimplification) Tolerance: ◦ Reduction in the effect of a drug as a result of repeated use, requiring users consume greater quantities to achieve the same effect. ◦ Often the result of the body's attempt to maintain homeostasis. Withdrawal: ◦ Unpleasant effects of reducing or stopping consumption of a drug that users had consumed habitually. Depressants: ◦ Drugs that create a decrease in nervous system activity. Alcohol: ◦ Increases GABA ◦ Decreases Glutamate ◦ At low doses inhibitory control centers in the cortex are “depressed”. ◦ Creates a release of inhibitions ◦ “Upper” phase of drinking. ◦ At higher doses other regions are “depressed” ◦ Loss of motor coordination ◦ Impaired judgment ◦ “Downer” phase of drinking. ◦ Alcohol myopia ◦ A “short-sightedness” in thinking caused by a inability to pay attention to as much information as a sober person Depressants: Barbiturates and Tranquilizers ◦ a.k.a. sleeping pills and sedatives ◦ Increase GABA activity. ◦ Very addictive ◦ At high doses can lead to depression, a loss of motor coordination, and memory impairments. Stimulants ◦ Drugs that create an increase in nervous system activity. -Amphetamines ◦ Reduce sleep, fatigue, appetite, and depression. ◦ Increase dopamine and norepinephrine. ◦ Injections can lead to massive spikes in blood pressure causing a stroke. →Amphetamine Psychosis: ◦ Schizophrenia-like hallucinations that occur when the brain’s dopamine activity is artificially increased far beyond normal levels by heavy and/or continuous amphetamine use - Methamphetamine ◦ Inhaled via smoking ◦ Ingredients to produce it are very accessible. ◦ More potent than standard amphetamines. ◦ Increased probability of OD and dependence. ◦ Can cause aggression, paranoia, acne, “meth mouth” -MDMA (Ecstasy) ◦ 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine -Cocaine ◦ Grows from a South American plant Erythroxylum coca. ◦ Was a common curative in the 1800s. ◦ Can be injected, snorted, or inhaled (smoked). ◦ Has analgesic properties. ◦ Creates excitement and euphoria. ◦ Blocks the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine. ◦ Has (relatively) mild withdrawal symptoms that are accompanied by strong cravings for the drug. -Opiates ◦ Drugs that bind to opioid/endorphin receptors and produce analgesic and euphoric effects. ◦ Derived from the opium poppy. ◦ Can produced increased levels of dopamine leading to euphoria. ◦ Can be administered in a variety of methods. ◦ Well known examples: Morphine, Codeine, Heroin ◦ Fentanyl ◦ Oxy-Contin Hallucinogens / Psychedelics ◦ Drugs which cause dramatic alterations of perception, mood, and thought. ◦ Can enhance, distort, and intensify sensory experience. ◦ Effects are often unpredictable leading to paranoia, violence, and anxiety in some people. ◦ Cannabis ◦ Usually smoked, but can be consumed in a variety of forms. ◦ Comes from the leaves of the hemp plant (cannabis sativa) ◦ Primary ingredient THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) ◦ Stimulates cannabinoid receptors ◦ Myths ◦ Causes amotivational syndrome ◦ Acts as a “gateway drug” Learning and Behaviour Behaviourism ◦ Assumes behavior can be studied for its own sake. ◦ Assumes that the causes of behavior (a natural event) only include natural phenomena. ◦ Views behavior as a function of evolved genetic and environmental forces. ◦ It’s a pragmatic argument about how a Science of behavior should be conducted. It is not a metaphysical position about the nature of consciousness or the mind. ◦ Note: Don’t confuse Psychology’s Behaviorism with the school of thought in Philosophy called “Behaviorism.” Phylogenetic (Evolved) Behaviour Reflexes ◦ A relationship between a specific event and simple response to that event. ◦ Found in all members of a species. ◦ Highly stereotypic ◦ Human Examples: ◦ Pupillary reflex. ◦ Rooting reflex ◦ Suckling reflex ◦ Salivary reflex ◦ Palmar grasp reflex ◦ Peristalsis ◦ Respiratory reflex ◦ Patellar reflex ◦ And so on... ◦ Not all are useful ◦ E.g., Peanut allergies, flashing lights causing seizures Primary Laws of The Reflex 1.Law of Threshold ◦ There is a point (called the threshold) below which no response is elicited and above a response always occurs. 2. Law of Intensity-Magnitude ◦ Increases in stimulus intensity (or magnitude), also increase the intensity (or magnitude) of the response. 3. Law of Latency ◦ The more intense a stimulus is, the faster the response is elicited. Habituation Habituation: ◦ A decrease in the intensity or probability of a reflex response resulting from repeated exposure to a stimulus that evokes that response. ◦ Habituation is perhaps the simplest form of learning Phylogenetic (Evolved) Behaviour Fixed Action Patterns ◦ A series of related acts found in (nearly) all members of a species. ◦ Occurs when the appropriate releaser stimulus (or stimuli) is present. ◦ Also called: ◦ Modal Action Patterns ◦ Species-specific behavior General Behaviour Traits ◦ Any general behavioral tendency that is strongly influenced by genes. ◦ E.g., introversion, general anxiety, activity level, aggressiveness, drug abuse, etc.... ◦ Evidence: ◦ Selective Breeding ◦ Gene Knockout ◦ Twin studies Learning means Change -A change in behaviour due to the environment →Behaviour has numerous measurable (ie. Objective) dimensions which could change: Frequency, intensity, speed, form/topography -Types of Learning: →Habituation →Respondent (ie. Classical/Pavlovian) Conditioning →Operant conditioning Learning: Respondent Conditioning Classical conditioning: Pavlovian Conditioning. Respondent Conditioning Unconditional Stimulus (US): an antecedent stimulus that elicits the behaviour called the unconditioned response without the need of any prior history of learning. Unconditional Response (UR): The behavior elicited by the antecedent stimulus called the unconditioned stimulus without the need of any prior history of learning. The Unconditional Reflex Conditional Stimulus (CS) →A previously neutral stimulus that acquires the ability to elicit a conditioned response when it is contingently paired with an unconditioned stimulus. i.e., the CS’s function is literally “conditional” on its relationship with the US Conditional Response (CR) →The behavior elicited by the antecedent stimulus called conditioned stimulus Probe Trial ◦ Present the CS alone (i.e., with no US). ◦ Also called “test trials In general, more exposure = greater conditional responding Early exposure produces more learning than later exposure. ◦ i.e. Non-linear. Conditional Responding is “asymptotic” Conditioning/Learning can occur at different rates ◦ E.g., Taste aversion can occur after only 1 exposure. ◦ E.g., Salivation requires numerous exposures. Temporal Relationships Delayed Conditioning ◦ The CS begins and US overlap partially. ◦ The CS begins first. ◦ Generally the most effective method when CS-US interval is short (0.4 – 1 sec) ◦ CS-US interval = Time between CS onset and US onset. ◦ Common in the real world Trace Conditioning ◦ The CS begins and ends before the US. ◦ Generally, longer intervals between the CS and US produce weaker responding. ◦ Caveat: Depends on the response being learned. ◦ Common in the real world Simultaneous Conditioning ◦ The CS and US begin and end at the same time. ◦ Less common in the real world. ◦ Less effective than Delayed and Trace conditioning Backwards Conditioning ◦ The CS follows the US. ◦ Not effective, but can be demonstrated in a laboratory Respondent Conditioning Respondent extinction: Presenting the conditioned stimulus (CS) in the absence of the unconditional stimulus (US) Spontaneous Recovery: An increase in the magnitude of the conditioned response (CR) after respondent extinction has occurred and time has passes →demonstrates that extinction is not simply forgetting what was learned Respondent/Stimulus Generalization: ◦ When an organism shows a conditioned response to values of the CS that were not trained during acquisition. ◦ Produces a generalization gradient. Respondent/Stimulus Discrimination: ◦ When values of the CS, other than what was originally trained, elicit little to no conditioned response. Higher-Order Conditioning: ◦ A type of conditioning in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditional stimulus (CS2) because of its contingent relationship with an already effective conditional stimulus (CS1). ◦ Also called second-order conditioning, and third order, and fourth order, and so on Learning: Respondent Conditioning Aversion Therapy ◦ A therapy in which a stimulus is contingently paired with a noxious (aversive) stimulus. ◦ E.g., Disulfiram (Antabuse) Learning: Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning: ◦ The study of how consequences effect behavior. Effect of Reinforcing Consequences Increase frequency Increase duration Increase intensity Increase in quickness (decrease in latency) Increase in variability You get an increase of whatever the reinforcer is contingent on. Learning: Operant Conditioning Reinforcement: The procedure of providing consequences for a behavior that increase or maintains the probability of that behavior occurring in the future. Reinforcer: Any event or stimulus that follows an operant response and increases or maintains its future probability. Positive Reinforcement: Any event or stimulus that, when presented as a consequence of a behavior, increases or maintains the future probability of that behavior. Negative Reinforcement: Any event or stimulus that, when removed as a consequence of a behavior, increases or maintains the future probability of that behavior. punishment ◦ Punishers are defined by their effect on behavior. ◦ If the behavior doesn’t decrease the behavior it’s not a punishment. ◦ Can be highly effective and work over the long term when used properly. ◦ Drawbacks (this list is not exhaustive): ◦ Only decreases behavior (it doesn’t teach new acceptable behaviours). ◦ Will usually foster undesirable emotional responses: ◦ Aggression ◦ Fear and anxiety responses ◦ Crying ◦ Apathy and/or depression ◦ Can foster subversive practices to escape punishment. ◦ Imitation of the punisher. Discriminative Stimulus: ◦ A stimulus or event that sets the occasion for reinforcement. ◦ i.e., signals that a behaviour will be reinforced when it occurs. Discrimination: ◦ The effect of response being more likely to occur in the presence of the discriminative stimulus or event than its absence. ◦ i.e., the rat is more likely to press the lever when the light is on than when it is off. ◦ The light is said to be “controlling” the rats behaviour. Operant / Stimulus Generalization: ◦ When an organism responds to values of the discriminative stimulus that are different than the originally trained values. ◦ Produces a generalization gradient. Operant Extinction: ◦ The procedure of withholding reinforcers that maintain a behaviour. Spontaneous Recovery: ◦ The tendency for extinguished behaviour to occur again in situations similar to those it had been previously reinforced after time has elapsed. ◦ Repeated sessions of extinction (usually in multiple settings) are required to prevent spontaneous recovery. ◦ Demonstrates that extinction is not simply “forgetting” what was learned. Extinction Burst: ◦ A short-lived rapid burst in responding following the initial exposure to extinction. Extinction also produces: ◦ Aggression ◦ Variability of responding. Schedule of Reinforcement: ◦ A rule describing the delivery of reinforcement. ◦ Different schedules produce unique schedule effects. ◦ Schedule Effect: Particular pattern and rate of behaviour over time. ◦ Over the long-term effects are very predictable. ◦ Can make behaviours more resistant to extinction. ◦ Occur in numerous species (humans included). Shaping: Differential reinforcement of successive approximations of a target behaviour →E.g. Training a rat’s lever press 1. Reinforce approaches to lever 2. Reinforce sniffing the lever 3. Reinforce touching with paw 4. Reinforce a full depression of the lever ◦ Note: Extinction of earlier steps can aid shaping because of the increased variability of behaviour extinction produces. Memory Memory Illusion →False but subjectively compelling memory Forgetting: Deterioration in learned behaviour following a retention interval →Retention Interval: A period during which the learning or practice of a behaviours does not occur Memory →What is memory in relation to learning? Are they different? →Is memory at the level of behaviour the same thing as memory at the level of the brain (ie. neurons, neurotransmitters, etc.) Sensory memory: →Brief storage of perceptual information before it is passed to short term memory →Iconic Storage/memory: Visual Sensory memory that only lasts about a second. George Sperling: Method of Partial Report →Echoic Store/memory: Auditory sensory memory that lasts 5-10 seconds Short term/Working memory: →Memory system that retains information for limited durations →Encompasses information currently being attended to, thought about or processing in some way Short-term memory is short because: ◦ Decay: fading of information from memory over time. ◦ Interference: loss of information from memory because of competition from additional incoming information. ◦ Retroactive Interference: Interference with retention of old information due to acquisition of new information. ◦ Proactive Interference: Interference with acquisition of new information due to previous learning of information. →Has limited capacity of 7±2 →Magic Number: the assumed span of short-term memory: seven plus or minus two pieces of information. ◦ Researchers are not unanimous on this point. ◦ Digit Span Task Chunking: ◦ Organizing information into meaningful groupings, allowing us to extend the span of short-term memory. Rehearsal: ◦ Repeating information to extend the duration of retention in short-term memory. ◦ Maintenance Rehearsal: ◦ Repeating stimuli in their original form to retain them in short-term memory. ◦ Elaborative Rehearsal: ◦ Linking stimuli to each other in a meaningful way to improve retention of information in short-term memory. Levels of Processing / Depth of Processing ◦ A model of memory that posits the more “deeply” we process information, the better we are at remembering it (i.e., transferring it to LTM). ◦ Has Three Levels: ◦ Structural (i.e., visual) ◦ Phonological (i.e., auditory) ◦ Semantic (i.e., its meaning) ◦ Problem: ◦ Circularity ◦ Falsifiability Long Term Memory (LTM) ◦ Relatively enduring (from minutes to years) retention of information stored regarding our facts, experiences, and skills. ◦ Has large capacity (unlike STM) ◦ Lasts for hours to years. ◦ Permastore: type of long-term memory that appears to be permanent Primacy and Recency Effects: ◦ Primacy effect: Tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well. →Traditionally thought to reflect LTM processes. ◦ Recency effect: Tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well. →Traditionally thought to reflect STM processes Repeated Retrieval: ◦ Repeatedly trying to recall/use the material over time. ◦ i.e., Quiz yourself (don’t passively re-read notes) Semantic memory ◦ our knowledge of facts about the world ◦ Also referred to as “declarative memory” Episodic memory ◦ recollection of events in our lives Explicit memory ◦ memories we recall intentionally and of which we have conscious awareness Implicit memory ◦ memories we don’t deliberately remember or reflect on consciously Procedural Memory ◦ memory for how to do things, including motor skills and habits Priming ◦ The activation of one concept by another. (Semantic) Priming Semantically related words will result in faster reaction times. Memory as a Network of Associations ◦ Theory that memory can be represented as a network of associated concepts. ◦ Each concept is represented by a “node” ◦ Lines between concepts represent “associations” ◦ Shorter lines mean stronger relationships ◦ Often conceptualized as a neural network with each node being equivalent to a neuron. Problem: ◦ Unfalsifiable The Neural Basis of Memory Storage Engram ◦ A, hypothesized, physical trace of a memory within the brain. ◦ Karl Lashley (Trained rats on a maze. Lesioned brain areas) Hebbian Learning ◦ Donald Hebb, in 1949, hypothesized... ◦ “When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite a cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that A's efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased.” ◦ i.e., Neurons that fire together wire together. Long-Term Potentiation of synapses (LTP) ◦ A long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them synchronously. ◦ Potentiation: an increased efficiency to evoke a post-synaptic potential. Amnesia Retrograde Amnesia: ◦ Loss of memories from our past. Anterograde Amnesia ◦ Inability to form new memories from our experiences Consolidation: ◦ A hypothetical process involving the gradual conversion of information into durable memory codes stored in long-term memory. Alzheimer’s Disease ◦ A degenerative brain disease that results in dementia. ◦ Language ability deteriorates along with other bodily processes. ◦ Risk increases with age. ◦ Strong genetic component. ◦ Associated with a number of neurological abnormalities. ◦ E.g., Deterioration of Acetylcholine neurons in the cortex. ◦ Early lifestyle may play a large part in its progression. ◦ E.g., Nun study. Infantile amnesia ◦ Inability of adults to remember personal experiences that took place before an early age. ◦ Occurs for events before the age of 2- 3 years old. ◦ May be due to Underdeveloped hippocampus, No sense of self False Memories Cryptomnesia ◦ Failure to recognize that our ideas originated with someone else. ◦ May be the result of source monitoring confusion, a lack of clarity about the origin of a memory. Misinformation Effect ◦ Creation of fictitious memories by providing misleading information about an event after it takes place. Implanted Memories ◦ Fact or Fiction?